Bending Angel

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Prayer to Separate Us from Our Stuff – September 11, 2022

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This week I am reposting one of my most read prayers. It’s really hard to let go of our stuff. May God help you and me to remove clutter from our lives.

God – This week Dorothy and I are making room in our home for a dear family member who needs to live with us for a while. We have had to focus on decluttering, giving away, and pitching items we have acquired which take up space in our rooms, closets, and drawers.

The sheer magnitude of this task and the size of the piles of stuff we have to deal with is overwhelming. Thankfully, it is at the time in our lives when we truly want simplicity. To find joy and the sacred in the simple and in the ordinary. Not yielding to the belief in advertising that long-lasting happiness is found in getting the latest gadget, the newest iPhone, the newest car, an expensive piece of furniture, or high-priced fashion.

We discover items we bought years ago, but never used. Items saved for later use, but never needed. Money spent on possessions that could’ve been better spent on others in need. Hours spent at the office to pay for possessions, time we could have used looking at more sunsets and rising moons, walking through the Houston Arboretum and Emmott Circle, or taking family trips, going to concerts, and being with others we love, just to name a few.

Lord, like millions of others, we love our stuff. But, except for the joy at the time of purchase, things are not what make us happy. We find happiness in our experiences. We find value not in what we own but in who we share our lives with – our families and friends.

God, please help separate us from our stuff so we can be closer to others and nearer to You.

For those of us with too much stuff, please help us give it to others who have so much less.

By serving and working for our stuff less, we can spend more time in our service to You.

God, please help us refrain from buying things we do not really need. To clear the clutter from our lives and in our homes.

In doing so we make room for others in our hearts, for You and for Your love and light which bring us everlasting joy. Amen

If you like this prayer, please share.

If you want to purchase for yourself or a friend a copy of Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love or Prayerful Passages: Asking God’s Help in Reconciliation, Separation or Divorce, please click here to go to Amazon.

Jack H. Emmott is a Senior Counsel of Gray, Reed & McGraw, LLP, a 120-lawyer full-service firm in Houston, Texas, a Board-Certified Family Law and Master Credentialed Collaborative Law Professional Divorce Attorney, Mediator, Author, Entrepreneur, and Inspirational Speaker. For more information about Jack or his latest book, Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love, go to the Bending Angel website.

Prayer to See God Things in a Graveyard – December 12, 2021

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To enjoy Jack’s video version of this prayer, click here.

Photo credit: southseatleemaerald.com

As you and I get older and hopefully wiser, thoughts often turn to Bucket Lists. Trips to places in America or abroad like Rome, Ireland, Greece, London, Paris. Maybe to skydive like President Bush on his 80th birthday. Go to a Broadway Show in New York City.

Then, there are Bucket List Items that involve resolving unanswered questions which have gone on far too long. Or, reconciling relationships with others before our time on Earth ends and our eternal life in Heaven begins. To close revolving doors of disappointment and disillusionment which never seem to stop spinning or to complete the circle on an unsatisfying relationship before it is too late.

Through marriage, I have a dear cousin, Meredith, in California who is beautiful, extremely intelligent, very literate, and gifted in photography. She grew up in one of the most beautiful environments in the world–the Monterey Peninsula. Her dad built a small ranch home in the 1950s at the north end of 17 Mile Drive just north of Pebble Beach. On a teacher’s salary, he purchased four lots on which to build his home. Meredith grew up hearing the surf pounding the beaches from her open bedroom window amidst the smell of Eucalyptus trees and the salty breeze.

My cousin’s mother was kind, caring, loving, and stable. She provided the kind of childhood for my cousin to achieve the most in life. However, their mother-daughter relationship left much to be desired. Meredith always wanted to be closer to her mom. Meredith wanted to know why her mom said some hurtful things; why her mom was not more accepting of her; and why her mom was too judgmental on occasion. Those lingering questions on her Bucket List were the most important ones for Meredith to check off before her Day of Rest came and her Eternal Life began.

Then, Meredith’s mom died of a chronic lung ailment. Meredith faced the harsh reality that these items could never be taken out of her Bucket List. The answers would never come. The circle of her relationship with her mom would never close. What on Earth could she do?

Meredith decided to take a walk in the Monterey Cemetery, Cementerio El Encinal, in the heart of downtown Monterey. Maybe, just maybe, amidst the quiet beauty and serenity of its gently sweeping lawns, historic monuments, and sentinel oaks, at this place she might gain some clarity, peace, and understanding. Would there be a life lesson from God while walking among the headstones of the dead?

As Meredith turned to view El Estero Lake from a clearing in the Cemetery, a ray of sunlight pierced through a canopy of sentinel oaks and illuminated a headstone in front of her. If the headstone had lips, Meredith would’ve heard a voice, a God Thing, which said, ‘Come to me, my dear child. I have written on me the words you need to hear.”

Meredith saw the inscription. Above was the name of the woman who died. Below was her date of birth and date of death. The aged headstone was worn and hard to read. More than 100 years had passed since the woman was buried. Stepping closer to the headstone Meredith read six words that spoke volumes to her. “She Did The Best She Could.”

Meredith sat down on the grass in front of the headstone. Her questions had been answered. The Bucket had been emptied. The circle of love and life with her mother had been completed. Deep in her heart, Meredith knew that her mom had done the best she could. That was enough.

God has spoken to us in Scripture on doing acts to make us more prepared to go home and be with God.

Hebrews 12:13-14
Make straight paths for your feet. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

1 Corinthians 2:9
What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.

Let us pray together.

Dear God, in prayer please show me the way to prepare for my eternal life with You.

God, please give me the strength to address my shortcomings in my relationships with others, especially the members of my family. That I might serve You in the way I ask for their forgiveness and understanding.

God, where possible, please inform me in Your truth as to how and why any of my relationships are broken or unharmonious–that I may one day understand what is not understood at this time.

God, please help me to die after living a life of faith–a life filled with acts of loving You.

Last, through Your mercy and grace, may I be more prepared each day to return home to You. To a place without Bucket Lists. For with You there will be nothing left for me to do except to love. Amen

If you like this prayer, please share.

If you want to purchase for yourself or a friend a copy of Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love or Prayerful Passages: Asking God’s Help in Reconciliation, Separation or Divorce, please click on here to go to Amazon.

Jack H. Emmott is a Senior Counsel of Gray, Reed & McGraw, LLP, a 145-lawyer full-service firm in Houston, Dallas, and Waco, Texas, a Board-Certified Family Law and Master Credentialed Collaborative Law Professional Divorce Attorney, Mediator, Author, Entrepreneur, and Inspirational Speaker. For more information about Jack or his latest book, Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love, go to the Bending Angel website.

Prayer to Make Room for Others – Insights from a May Day – May 3, 2020

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Photo Credit: Facebook

Click this link to hear Jack’s recording of this prayer.

God – When I was age 10 and attending fourth-grade at E. A. Post Elementary, there was a school production to celebrate May Day.  All of the students and teachers coordinated this large festival production of singing, dancing, and wrapping streamers around the tall Maypole.

The event was big.  But, being in a wheelchair, I felt very small.  Very useless and insignificant.

I was rather out of place and uncomfortable.  That is because what could I really contribute to the festivities being confined to a wheelchair because of polio?   Clearly not dancing.  I could not sing.  Wrapping streamers around the Maypole was not physically possible.

Thankfully, the Principal at my school, Roy Metcalf, somehow knew that I needed to be included.  He had written a script especially for me and asked me to be Master of Ceremonies. My job was to say inspirational things about the occasion and to lead everyone through each of the activities being performed on the field.

That experience of someone making room for me will never be forgotten. Because my Principal saw value in me, I grew up to find value within myself and others too.   Isn’t that what we should do for others in service to You?

Many of Your places of worship are closed due to COVID-19.   But, the doors of our hearts can and must remain open to share Your grace.

At this time of social and familial distancing, we cannot hug or shake hands.  Smiles may not be seen by others as we wear our COVID-19 masks. But, there are countless things we each can do which reflect how You value us and, likewise, ways we can recognize and show appreciation of others.

For example,

To write handwritten notes as Your pen pal angels to others for them to receive messages of Holy hope from You.

To wave to others as they walk or ride a bicycle down the street where we live.

To say, “Thanks” to a cashier at a store’s check-out counter or at a drive-through window.

To invite a child to help bake cookies, make pizza or put flowers or tomato plants in the garden.

To ask a son or daughter to create a painting or drawing to place on a wall. (Children have talents and roles to be valued too).

Such simple acts mean so much now.  But, such deeds, like Principal Metcalf’s act for me when I was 10, often make an incalculable difference in later years.  Years when our self-worth is tested and when we need courage and strength to live and love by Your Word and to blossom in Your Kingdom.

If we ask You in prayer, “What can I do to make room for others?”  “What small thing can I do to show my empathy and compassion to a friend or stranger at this difficult time?”  You will certainly provide the answers.

God, not all of us can sing, dance on May Days, or weave colorful streamers around the Maypole.  But, we can all celebrate Your unbounded loving inclusivity of all Your children….a love without borders….a church without walls……a place marked with a Cross far more glorious than any Maypole. A place I found in a Principal’s heart making room for me in fourth grade. A little act of kindness which made a huge difference in me. 

Roy Metcalf died and is now with You in Heaven.  Yet, his kindness lives on in me.  Amen

If you like this prayer, please share.

If you want to purchase for yourself or a friend a copy of Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love or Prayerful Passages: Asking God’s Help in Reconciliation, Separation or Divorce, please click on here to go to Amazon.

Jack H. Emmott is a Senior Counsel of Gray, Reed & McGraw, LLP, a 145-lawyer full-service firm in Houston, Dallas, and Waco, Texas, a Board-Certified Family Law and Master Credentialed Collaborative Law Professional Divorce Attorney, Mediator, Author, Entrepreneur and Inspirational Speaker.  For more information about Jack or his latest book, Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love, go to the Bending Angel website.

Prayer to Overcome Dream Killers – September 23, 2018

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Dear God, when I was in college my freshman year, I took a course in pre-law. I yearned to be an attorney and felt that was my destiny, my dream. My confidence and hope was shaken when I failed my first exam.

Almost in tears, I went to meet the professor to ask his opinion on what my poor test score meant. Surely, a failed test did not reflect a verdict on whether I could become a lawyer.

I said to my professor, “I failed my first test. Do you think I have the ability to succeed in law school and become an attorney?” Without batting an eye the professor said, “The failed grade reflects that you do not have the ability make it in law school. You should consider another career path.”

After a day of prayer and reflection, I went to the Registrar’s Office and dropped the class. I was not going to let my professor’s judgement kill my dream.

I cannot candy coat this event by saying the professor’s proclamation just spurred me on. The truth is that if I had lesser faith in my ability and in You, my Lord, I could’ve easily given up. I could’ve quit and not fulfilled the gifts You gave me or lived to serve You by serving others.

God, please help all Your children to overcome dream killers. Dream killers do not do Your work.

Please strengthen those who are discouraged by others to persevere. To have as much faith in Your plans for them as they have faith in You.

Please help Your children ignore and overcome dream killers. Then, may they follow the path which leads to the living dreams on Earth and peace with You in Heaven. Amen.

If you like this prayer, please share.

Jack H. Emmott is a Senior Counsel of Gray, Reed & McGraw, LLP, a 120-lawyer full service firm in Houston, Texas, a Board-Certified Family Law and Master Credentialed Collaborative Law Professional Divorce Attorney, Mediator, Author, Entrepreneur and Inspirational Speaker. For more information about Jack or his latest book, Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love, go to the Bending Angel website.