prayer

I love that she fell asleep with her super-hero cape on and the Lorax.

"I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time- waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God- it changes me." -C.S. Lewis

Naomi was so sick yesterday with a new cough and fever. She was grouchy and emotionally unstable. She's not one to just fall asleep sitting in the chair - or anywhere without a lot of help, so I knew she really wasn't feeling well. She woke a little later and I asked if she'd like to lay down in her cozy bed. She nodded so I lifted her upstairs to her bed. She was so disoriented and feverish that when I laid her down she really freaked out. She lay there panicking and sobbing uncontrollably. I didn't know how else to calm her, so I took her hand and asked if I could say a prayer with her. She said yes, so I began to pray, thanking Heavenly Father for her, that she was my daughter and my sweet friend. I asked that He would bless her with peace - both physically and spiritually - that she would be able to feel His love. I asked that the ibuprofen would help to bring her fever down quickly and that she would be able to sleep and heal and feel better when she awoke. When I opened my eyes I noticed that she had fallen back to sleep. I left in search of the ibuprofen and when Kalea and I walked in 3 or 4 minutes later, she sat up and happily greeted us. Her fever was considerably lower and she was pleasant through the rest of the day.

I was so hoping that she would remember the experience - that it would help her build a stronger trust in God and in the power of prayer... but she remembered very little when she woke up.

But I remember. And I know He heard that prayer.


3/15 Naomi update: The doctor took a good look at her and said it's just a regular cold - no strep or bronchitis. Her asthma makes her cough so much worse than it would normally be in other children.