Bending Angel

Prayer to Let Go When You Are in Over Your Head – September 27, 2020

September 28, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

For the video of Jack and this prayer, please click here.

Years ago, I heard about an extraordinary woman of great love and deep faith. The woman, let’s call her Rose, had led a charmed life. She had married her true love. Their affection for one another grew as deeply as their marriage was long. Rose and her husband had worked hard. Because of that, they had accumulated enough wealth on which to retire comfortably. All the stars were aligned for Rose’s husband to retire at the age of 55. Rose had every expectation that retirement would lead to more beautiful memories and joys to come for many years with her husband.

However, Rose’s husband suddenly died of natural causes just weeks into his early retirement. Rose’s life was turned upside down and inside out. An unspeakable and unexpected loss darkened Rose’s days. Her life was broken into a million pieces. Nothing made sense for her anymore.

In this troubled time Rose thought it might be healing to reconnect with her lifelong friends. Plans were made to have an adventure with her friends in a far and distant place. To reconnect with the past. To make sense of the present. To find hope and healing for the future. Part of the plan was to take an excursion, a tube float down a beautiful river.

Along with her friends Rose floated past the beautiful landscape with tree branches hanging over calmly moving waters. Rose had a life jacket on. She wanted to be safe.

As Rose and her friends floated down the river, ahead she saw a boulder standing out of the water with water rushing around it on one side. Rose was pulled into the swift moving water next to the boulder. She expected to come out the other side and to join her friends. However, Rose was swept into a vortex pulling her beneath the surface. She struggled with all her might to escape. Flailing her arms and legs to swim to the top and to escape drowning. Nothing helped. Rose was clearly in a perilous predicament. She had a problem and was in over her head.

Convinced that she was going to drown, Rose decided to give up her human struggle and look to God for help. As she was about to lose consciousness, Rose relaxed, she let go and said to God, “Please take me in your arms.” Miraculously, when Rose let go, she immediately popped up to the surface of the water.

Rose survived what could have been the end of her life. Soon, she found renewed joy, happiness and purpose in life. Today, she is contributing to the goodness of the Earth and to others.

To me whether Rose’s escape from the gravity of the vortex has a scientific explanation, or whether the Arms of God or an angel rescued her from harm, the point is that surrendering to God in prayer lifted her up then and ever since.

For me, in prayer I always ask God to give me the wisdom to know those things that I should accept, and which cannot be changed and to fight for those things which can be changed.

God has spoken to us in Scripture about letting go.

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

In my own life and in my calling as a Collaborative Divorce Attorney I try to distinguish between giving up and letting go. Giving up is sacrificing the illusion of control. I ask husbands and wives to look at letting go, not at giving up. Being a quitter. A loser. Or suffering a defeat. That negative view of letting go is more crippling than the injuries I suffered with polio. In contrast, letting go of a problem, a situation or a relationship can be empowering. It takes a different kind of courage. A stronger faith that God will handle what we cannot no matter what efforts, words or actions we take. That allows God’s love to work in us and through us in all things.

God, in prayer please give us the wisdom to find strength to change the world and our relationships for the better when that change is possible.

God, in prayer please help us to find the wisdom to do what is needed to let go and to surrender our lives, our present and future to You.

God, in prayer please help us to let go when we are in over our heads in the vortexes of life and the living of it.

God in prayer please help us to have such faith in You that we can rise above the troubles in our lives to the surface of Your hope, love and plans for us and in us. Amen

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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 See the Rainbow – September 20, 2020

September 20, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

To enjoy the video of Jack and this prayer, please click here.

Do you remember the first time you saw a rainbow? The arching colors showering you with magical colors set against the dark sky. The ominous clouds seemed to disappear. The weight of the rain was lifted from your shoulders. You were suddenly transported to a different place. The pot of gold was not seen at the end of the Rainbow. The treasure was the vision of the rainbow which lifted you and your spirits from where you were on Earth toward Heaven.

At this moment in my life and maybe yours, I feel my world has been turned upside down. Those husbands and wives I serve in my collaborative divorce practice feel the same. They and I are trying to upright the ship in troubled waters to find peace. The right path to take at this difficult time. It is hard enough to make the pieces fit in our lives and in our relationships even without the Pandemic. But, along with the Pandemic, now we are in a storm of devastating forest fires. Catastrophic hurricanes. Destructive coastal flooding. Separation from loved ones without a reunion on the horizon. Like many of you, one of my dear friends lost her mother whom she could not be with for the last 7 months of her life. Our Nation which feels far more divided than United as one under God.

As I was getting ready to write today’s prayer, I heard a voice telling me to listen to folk music. I said, “Alexa, please play folk songs for me.” As if God handpicked the song I so much needed to hear this morning, the first song Alexa played for me was Kacey Musgraves Rainbow Listening to Kacey’s Rainbow song helped me find a rainbow and helped me pray to God for much needed direction, guidance, peace, perseverance, and for wisdom.

Kacey’s lyrics which touched my heart were:

Well, the sky is finally open, the rain and wind stopped blowin’
But you’re stuck out in the same ol’ storm again
You hold tight to your umbrella, well, darlin’ I’m just tryin’ to tell ya
That there’s always been a rainbow hangin’ over your head

If you could see what I see, you’d be blinded by the colors
Yellow, red, and orange, and green, and at least a million others…..

How many of you or others you know are living in the darkness with emotions being blown around by the winds of the storms you and they are in? Because of that, totally unable to see the rainbow over head.

Geneses 37:3 recounts the story of Joseph receiving a coat of many colors from his father. Wearing the coat clothed Joseph in God’s light of many colors. A garment that depicted God’s glory found in heaven. For Joseph, and for what his jealous brothers intended for him, God turned so much bad and evil into glorious good and Godly love.

So, today and every day ahead, I encourage you to find a quiet place to pray. For when you pray God will show you the way out of every storm you are in. You will wear a coat of many colors, an armor of light to protect you and sustain you. You will no longer be blinded by the clouds around you. In prayer you will see the rainbow of Holy love around you and healing light above you.

Scripture says in Jeremiah 29:12
“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.”

God, we pray to You to reveal to us Your light and love of many colors to lift us from our worries and troubles at this challenging time in our lives.

God, in prayer help us to find rainbows in our hearts and our relationships with others. For in finding those rainbows of many colors, we find You, our God, and our perseverance to carry on.

God, we give thanks for all Your glory in heaven and on Earth and for the Good News that You are always listening to us. That prayer is indeed our direct line to You and to the inexhaustible goodness and glorious life You have planned for each of us. Amen

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Prayer to Find Labor’s Rest in God Alone – September 6, 2020

September 5, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

To enjoy the video of Jack and this prayer, please click here.

For you and for me this Labor Day weekend is like no other in our lives. When we are not working virtually at home, our minds are working overtime with worry. With caring for others in unexpected ways. With sleeping disturbed by our anxieties and fears about our safety and the welfare of others. With being deprived of a sense of community and companionship with others because of physical separation. In seeing conflict in our towns, cities, states and nation which present unprecedented challenges in our One Nation under God. In grieving for those who have died during the Pandemic. In adapting to address the Coronavirus which changes and challenges us every day. The list goes on and on doesn’t it?

Personally, this Labor Day weekend 2020 is a big change for me and my family. Dorothy and I live in a three-generational home with our beloved daughter and three grandchildren. Because we have maintained very strict protocols, worn masks, safely-distanced and washed hands, we’ve had the blessing of being under one roof during the Pandemic. But, because our grandchildren are going to return to school and attend classes next Tuesday, it is no longer safe to live together. So, not because we want to but because we have to, Dorothy and I are moving to our bay home. We are trading our treasured family time of togetherness for a beautiful view of Tres Palacios Bay. The beauty of the bay cannot compare with being with those we love each day. We pray that we can return to our home in Spring Valley soon. For now, only God knows when that will be.

None of us like the changes forced upon us, do we? Yet, it is a relief to know that God’s love never changes and that God goes wherever we go to help us find peace. To restore ourselves. To accept things which we cannot change. To make the best of things at the worst of times.

For you and for me on this Labor Day weekend in 2020, just how much do we all need to find ways to rest our minds, our bodies, and our souls? Where do we turn for that?

Scripture in Psalm 62:1 says,
My soul finds rest in God alone…..

So, this Labor Day weekend and every day which follows in this troubled time of Pandemic, and to quiet the conflict within us, please let us remember to pray. In prayer we can surely find all the rest we need. From our labors. To replenish ourselves and one another. To find the strength to carry on. To renew our gratitude to God for the fruits of our labors given to us in God’s Love and Grace.

God, we praise You for giving us minds, hands, and hearts to earn a living and support those who depend on us.

God, please help us to be mindful that You are not just with us on Sundays but all the days of the week.

God, at our work places, at home and the office, please help us to be patient with our fellow workers and the family members who live with us.
God, in thanksgiving to You, may we use the fruits of our labors to make a difference for those who are out of work, without food or shelter, or are less fortunate.

Please help us to remember to give more to those who have less.

May we strive to labor in ways that always please You.
When we find our labor’s rest, may we take the time to be with You in prayer.

Last, we pray that, when our work in service to You is done, we will find eternal and everlasting rest from our labors with You in Heaven. Amen.

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Prayer for the Unconditional Love and Loyalty of Dogs – August 30, 2020

August 30, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

Please click here for Jack’s video version of this prayer.

My grandfather, PawPaw, was far from a perfect man. Basically, he was good, like you and me. Yet he said things and held beliefs that were hard to accept.

He drove the most ugly and colorful mustard yellow automobile that was the cheapest one on Kitzman’s Chevrolet car lot. PawPaw had holes in the cuffs of his khaki pants, holes because he used his pants cuffs as ashtrays for his Camel cigarettes. In winter he used opened pages of the Houston Post to warm his legs in his recliner when he could’ve used a nice woolen blanket. Playing cards in the den and inconsiderately leaving cigarette butts burning in the ashtray to choke his fellow card players. After playing a game of cards, he would stand up from the table. Turn off the lights and the ceiling fan. Then, close the door and leave his guests behind him in the darkness and not say a word. That was his nice way of saying, “It is time to leave my house. The party is over. Don’t overstay your welcome.”

Although PawPaw’s family and friends had trouble accepting such behavior and imperfections, his dogs, Popeye, Smokey, and O.D. did not. None of that mattered to them. They unconditionally accepted PawPaw the way he was. They did not want or expect him to change. They fully loved him as their perfectly imperfect Master and Creature of God.

In return PawPaw loved and cared for his dogs in ways he was not able to do for his own family. PawPaw refused to give $20 to his wife, Jennie, to buy a dress at Sears. Yet, he would willingly spend $100 on a veterinarian to repair a dog’s broken leg or treat a dog’s illness. Popeye, Smokey, and O.D were family above all of PawPaw’s human family.

Every day after eating his breakfast, PawPaw would step out the back-screen door. The three dogs were waiting for him. They knew PawPaw had saved for each of them a little piece of toast. A little piece of daily bread to taste and to savor. All the dogs showed their appreciation in the wagging of tails. Popeye always went one step further.

To show his appreciation Popeye did much more every day than just vigorously wagging his tail when greeting his PawPaw. With his tail wagging behind him Popeye sauntered up to his PawPaw. Popeye always gently held a freshly fallen Live Oak Tree leaf in his mouth to present to PawPaw as if saying, “I have something to show you, PawPaw. In this simple gesture of giving you this leaf, I show you that you are highly valued and respected by me no matter what. You are mine and I am forever yours.”

In the doggie version of Driving Miss Daisy, PawPaw served as Popeye’s, Smokey’s, and O.D’s chauffeur. PawPaw always held open the car door for them to crawl into the back seat before he sat down in front behind the steering wheel. He made sure a soft wool blanket was placed on the back seat for their comfort. PawPaw treated them like royalty as he drove them everywhere in the car. That was because he knew his dogs saw him, their PawPaw, as their King, their Lord of the Manor. And because the dogs were so loyal and so in awe of him, the dogs never made a sound or complaint as to words they heard PawPaw scream in the car about those reckless and discourteous drivers on the road.

Like Sarah in the Bible, Popeye, Smokey, and O.D. went wherever PawPaw went. In the garden. In the car. Walking around the neighborhood to visit his children and grandchildren like me. They could not have loved a two-footed human being more as their owner, Master, King, or companion than any four-footed canine on Earth. Sitting in silence at PawPaw’s feet was to them the happiest place, the most sacred ground in Emmottville.

Suddenly, one morning in December 1978 I woke up. My son John, two months old, was crying uncontrollably. Something he had never done before. I looked out the window and saw my brother Gary sprinting across our front lawn running toward PawPaw’s house. I knew that something was terribly wrong. Dorothy and I immediately went over to PawPaw’s house. Popeye, Smokey, and O.D. were sitting on the back door steps of the house as if they were waiting for their usual pieces of PawPaw’s toast. The toast was not coming. I walked down the hall and looked into PawPaw’s bedroom. I saw PawPaw was laying on his right side clothed in his khaki pants and soft blue flannel shirt. A dog owner’s lifeless pose of a very old soul who had taken his last breath.

Soon the hearse from Waltrip Funeral Home pulled in the driveway. It parked by the three seated dogs and by the steps leading to the hall and to PawPaw’s bedroom. PawPaw’s body was placed on a gurney. After the gurney carefully navigated its way down the hall, out the door and down the steps, Popeye, Smokey, and O.D. witnessed PawPaw’s body being placed in it. The hearse’s rear door slammed shut. Yet, PawPaw’s loyal dogs did not flinch or move. They stood their ground in reverence for him.

As if Popeye, Smokey, and O.D. knew that this was their last time to spend with their Master and King, they needed to show their love, respect, and loyalty one last time. As the black hearse began to roll forward to leave the home, Popeye, Smokey, and O.D. stood up. Emulating what I saw when President Kennedy’s caisson carried his body to its final resting place in 1963, these three devoted dogs walked in silence and in unison with the hearse as it made its way down the driveway under the canopy of the Live Oak Trees PawPaw planted 50 years before.

As the hearse stopped before turning left on Emmott Road, the dogs stopped too and sat down. Popeye, Smokey, and O.D. knew that this was the end of following PawPaw, the one they unconditionally loved in all their dog years on Earth. The dogs watched the hearse turn left on Emmott Road. That marked the moment of final farewell, the final goodbye had truly come to them.

An hour or so later, the dogs were convinced that the hearse was gone and that their PawPaw was not going to return. Popeye, Smokey, and O.D. got up on their four paws and carried their collective grief and memories of their Master back home. Their unconditional love and loyalty for PawPaw was for them an Eternal Flame lit with grace and gratitude for him.

Many of you have dogs and know what I mean in sharing my story about Popeye, Smokey, and O.D with you. Haven’t you looked in your dog’s eyes and seen the unconditional love of God? Haven’t you seen in their wagging tails the joyous gift you are to them from God? Isn’t that what God wants us to see in our fellow men and women? In the kindness of others on Earth? In others’ acceptance of our faults, differences, and imperfections amidst the perfect spirit God has given you? How much do we need that today? In our families? At our workplaces? In our Nation? In our world?

In the Bible, God may not have directly spoken about our pet dogs. But, in Scripture God has abundantly spoken to us about unconditional love and loyalty. My favorite quote is:

1 Corinthians 13:4-5, 7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

God, in prayer we thank You for our dogs, Your four-footed angels that bring to us Your unconditional love despite all our human faults and imperfections.

God, please help us to extend to others those qualities within our dogs- qualities of love, acceptance, and tolerance of our fellow men and women in America and around the world.

God, please help us treat others the way our beloved dogs have treated us, for in doing so we honor You and show our loyalty to You and to all Your creatures, great and small.

God, may we bring offerings of love and acceptance to all our brothers and sisters, exquisite and sweet gifts, such as the Live Oak Tree leaves held tenderly in Popeye’s mouth to present to PawPaw and all his guests in the comings and goings of daily life and even in death. Amen

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Prayer to Leave Behind a Good Legacy – August 23, 2020

August 23, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

For Jack’s video of this prayer, please click here.

Last week’s prayer was a Prayer for More Tee Pee Motel Memories.

I hope that last week’s prayer helped you find joy today in reliving your cherished beautiful memories in the past.

Yesterday, I learned that my friend, Craig Plumhoff, of Houston, died from the Coronavirus. The stark reality of the loss of Craig to his bride, Mary Leslie, their children, son, Jonathan and daughter, Mary Kristen, other family members, and friends reminds me that, you and I will one day be just a memory too for those we leave behind.

Don’t we all desire to leave a good memory of ourselves after we die. For if we live Holy lives, the memory of us to others should be a blessing. That is because we have left a good legacy of Godly love.

Craig’s beautiful obituary in the Houston Chronicle today contained the words we all wish to be said about us when we die. “… Craig fully embraced his 71 years on earth and leaves behind a legacy of loving his neighbor as himself and loving his God with all his heart, mind, soul and strength. Those words truly reflected the child of God Craig was and not just candy-coated text to mask a life lesser lived and less loving to others.

We know that the gift of life from God includes the certainty of our death. Yet, the good news is that God promises that death gives way to the certainty of our eternal life.

What is the good legacy to be left behind? Maya Angelou said it this way, At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did. They will remember how you made them feel. All who knew Craig remember how he made them feel by his smile, laughter, encouragement and love from home, the office, at church, in his weekly Bible study group and to cheering on his kids when they played sports at St. Francis Episcopal Day School and beyond.

One day I saw Craig at lunch at Escalante’s before the Pandemic. He said he had gathered up all of his kids’ VHS home movies and taken them to a company to transfer the images to DVD’s. Those DVD’s were given to his children. But, his kids will never have to replay those images to see the good legacy he left behind for them.

I was unable to find the word, “legacy,” in the Bible. But, Scripture does help us understand what is important to be left behind for others to inherit when we become just a memory to them.

Psalm 145.4
One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.

Philippians 4.9:
What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

2 Timothy 2.2:
And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

God, in prayer let us recognize that one day we each will be just a memory to others.

God, in the life you have given us, please help us to focus on acts, words, and deeds which will endure and which will have lasting value for those we leave behind.

God, thank you for Craig Plumhoff and all your children in the world who have lived their lives in Your Name and left us with the everlasting legacy of love. Amen

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Prayer for More Tee Pee Motel Memories – August 16, 2020

August 16, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

For the video of Jack reading this prayer, please click here.

As you know, among other things, I am a collaborative divorce attorney. I’m dedicated to dissolving marriages without destroying the family or having the children becoming collateral damage in the breakup of the marriage. One of my challenges is to help husbands and wives not to dwell or obsess on the past wrongs their spouses have committed and even paralyzing self-blame in assuming responsibility for the cause of divorce.

I have lost count of the number of times I have told a husband or wife, “Please do not dwell on the past too much. If you live in the past, you die in the present.” In dealing with the mess in the present with the Coronavirus Pandemic, it is vital to live in the present and be intentional about keeping you and others safe. But, living solely in the present is not healthy either.

Reliving the remembrance of hurtful happenings in the past can be as crippling as polio was for me. But, the past holds in it tender morsels for our souls to savor and to be nourished by in the present. Those tender morsels are our beautiful memories.

One of the great gifts our good God has given us is the exquisite gift of memory.

As I was driving with Dorothy in Matagorda County last week, my mind turned the corner from the present to my past. I was blessed by God to remember a beautiful memory from my childhood.

My grandfather, “PawPaw”, had a fishing camp at Caney Creek. It was a rustic place. A one-room fishing shack with plywood walls. Without air-conditioning and had pop-out hinged windows without screens. The windows allowed an Air Force squadron of pesky mosquitoes to bombard us day and night. Mosquitoes not as feared as the massive water spiders lurching for me in the sprawling spider webs above the seat in the unlit smelly outhouse.

Despite all this, as a young boy, my heart was always lifted with excitement of the drive down to Caney Creek, past the rice and cotton fields. Dad would point out the mounds along the highway that used to have railroad tracks on them. Me looking for the abandoned railroad cars along the old Highway 59. Then south around the bend heading into Wharton was the memorable sight of the Tee Pee Motel. Much has changed since my younger years. But, the Tee Pee Motel is still standing there today decades later. So is that memory in me.

God’s gift to me in the present is reliving the beautiful memory of going to my grandfather’s camp on Caney Creek and anticipating all the sites leading to the Tee Pee Motel pictured here.

Today, how much do we need to hold onto and to savor those memories and moments God has given us? To be thankful for having minds which can remember them. To have not lost our minds and the memories in them in suffering through the Pandemic. Not lost the ability to make new ones. How many of you, like me, have found strength and joy in reliving memories of good experiences God has given you?

Today, our souls can chew on those tender morsels of memories. As with our God, those memories are transportable. They go wherever we are. Those memories do not spoil. They are not diminished with the passing of days. We are connected today with those we love and with God by those memories.

God has spoken to us in Scripture about memories and being thankful for them.

Psalm 143:5-16
I remember to think about the many things you did in years gone by. Then I lift my hands in prayer, because my soul is a desert, thirsty for water from you.

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Psalm 9:1
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.

God, just as daily prayer is important for us to live and to fully love each day, please help us to remember and savor the gifts of beautiful memories Your love has made possible for us.

God, please help each of us to draw strength from the joys of the past in order to find happiness in the present.

God, may we be ever thankful for the minds and the memories we have received in Your grace.

God, may our memories never be forgotten just as You have never forgotten us and You are with us in our past, in the present and in our future walks of faith. Amen

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Prayer to Open Doors for Others – August 9, 2020

August 9, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

For the video of Jack reading this prayer, please click here.

Last week’s prayer was a Prayer for Dreamers and Dream Killers. I believe that dreams and the hope that they can come true are gifts to you and me from God. But having dreams and making them come true requires more than the vision of what can be and more than working hard to achieve them.

How many of you have lived your dreams because someone opened a door for you? Given you the opportunity to succeed. To flourish. To flower in God’s Kingdom. How many of you lost a dream because a door did not open? Worse, a door was slammed in your face?

Today, I sit here before you being the best me that I’ve ever been because a man of faith helped open a door for me at a time when I needed it most. His name was Ron Trull.

After graduating from the University of Houston, I applied to 5 law schools in Texas. Every one of the law schools to which I applied sent me letters denying my application for admission. I was devastated, frustrated, and bewildered. One of the reasons my applications for admission were denied was my low LSAT test results. This was partly due to the fact that I did not take a test which allowed for additional time needed because of my slowness in writing due to polio.

I pled my case to each of the law schools explaining why my LSAT test results were so low. I thought the admissions committees would understand. I would be given the chance to prove my worth as a law student and a future lawyer.

After receiving the 5 rejection letters, my sole focus was the University of Texas School of Law. My mother graduated from Austin High. My father attended the University of Texas. I knew that the University of Texas School of Law was where I belonged. A place that would surely launch a career would fulfill my dream if only the door to the Law School would open for me.

I filed a passionate appeal with the Admissions Committee to reconsider my application. Dorothy and I met with T. J. Gibson, Dean of Students. I pled my case. The Admissions Committee heard my appeal. Shortly thereafter, Dean Gibson called me. My appeal had been denied. I was crushed. Immediately after Dean Gibson’s call, I drove to the Law School. I parked in front of the Law School building. As we sat in silence together in the car, I looked up at the Law School and said to Dorothy, “I belong here. I cannot give up on my dream. I must find a way to make this happen.”

The next day I called my counselor, Ron Trull, with the Texas Rehabilitation Commission. I asked Ron if he would please go and meet with Dean Gibson to request that my appeal be considered a second time. A few days later Ron drove from Houston and met with Dean Gibson.

I asked Ron, “What did you say to Dean Gibson?” Ron said he showed the Dean a record of all the money the State of Texas had paid for my rehabilitation and for my undergraduate education. Ron said to Dean Gibson, “The only way for the State of Texas to get a return on its investment in Jack would be if the Law School reversed its decision to give Jack the chance to get an education and become a lawyer.”

Neither Ron nor I knew what the outcome would be when the Admissions Committee reconsidered my appeal. My LSAT and grade point average were still the same. The members of the Committee were still the same. The dollars invested in my rehabilitation by the State of Texas were still the same. But, one thing had changed. Ron cared enough for me and had gone to meet with Dean Gibson. He asked that the Law School open its doors for me. He told the Dean that he believed in me and my ability.

Several weeks later when I had given up any hope that I would be admitted, a fat envelope from the Law School came in the mail. I called Dorothy on the phone and told her that I was about to open the envelope. I prayed over the envelope asking God for the letter to please say the words I needed to hear. I pulled out the letter. It said, “Congratulations you have been accepted to the summer class at the University of Texas School of Law.”

Sheer pandemonium broke out in my house. I called for my mother who ran down the stairs and to my bedroom. When Mom saw the letter she started screaming like the house was on fire. Or, like someone had just died. But in fact, a dream had just been born. My father was so alarmed by my mother’s screams he ran down the stairs and into my room clad only in his sleeveless t-shirt and boxers.

Today, as you look at me on this video, the person I am now and the person you see would not exist but for Ron Trull. I might have lived other dreams and contributed in other ways. But being my best and truest calling as a collaborative divorce attorney would never have been.

God has written in Scripture that the doors of Heaven are always open for every one of us who is faithful and asks for forgiveness of wrongs. In our births and in our God-given abilities seeds of Holy hope and opportunity are planted in each of us. Scripture says that we have a duty to open doors for others like Ron did for me. To help others harvest the fruit of their dreams.

John 10:2
But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

Revelation 3:7-8
I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

Matthew 7:7-8
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

These three Scriptural quotes demonstrate not only what God does for us but what God asks us to do for others. God holds the key to the Gates of Heaven. The place where we all will be. Our final resting place for us and in God’s dreams for us.

God, please help us to do for others what Ron did for me. He opened the door for me. Let us all be shepherds of Your sheep. Please show us how to walk others in need through doors of opportunity so that their dreams come true.

God, we thank You for all of those who have opened doors for us, as Ron Trull opened a door for me.

God, as we strive to keep Your word on our lips and Your hope in our hearts, let us all act to open doors of opportunity for others.

God, when we knock on the doors of opportunity for others, please use Your power and grace to cause those on the other side of the door to swing the doors wide open. To invite dreams of Your children to step in. For their dreams to come true. For a life without dreams is a life lived without hope. With You, our God, hope never dies. Amen

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Prayer for Dreamers and Dream Killers – August 2, 2020

August 2, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

For the video of Jack’s poem, please click here.

I love children. I often wonder whether my wheelchair has a magnet which attracts children to it. Within minutes of getting to know me, kids are seen riding on the back of my motorized wheelchair like it was an off-road four-wheeler!

But, I think what attracts children to me is not my wheelchair. It is the joy of the person who sits in it…..me. What attracts me to kids and causes me to love them is the joy in them. The unbridled and untarnished hopes and dreams which leap from their lips. Dance with their feet. Sing in their hearts. The stars in their eyes. Dreams children have which really can and do come true.

A young boy who believes he can become an archeologist exploring the pyramids of Egypt. A young girl as a second grader in a ballet class who knows her destiny is to perform like legendary ballerina Misty Copeland. A quadriplegic from polio who envisions being an attorney when he grows up.

At a young age, as children, don’t we all have dreams to dream? How many of us knew then and even now that God speaks to us in our dreams. I know I’ve heard God calling me to marry the one I love. To write a poem, a book, a prayer, or a song. What dreams did you once have as a child? What dreams do you have now? What happened to some of those dreams? Did you ever stop dreaming because you encountered another person who did not encourage you when you needed encouragement the most? Or worse, who by their words were your dream killers?

Despite being in a wheelchair in college, my dream was to become an attorney. So, at the University of Houston my freshman year, I took a course in pre-law. I just knew that my performance in that class would surely demonstrate to my professor and me how a successful legal career was destined for me.

My confidence and hope were 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, one failed test did not reflect a verdict on whether I could become a lawyer. Did I have false hope? Was I being unrealistic and foolhardy?

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, “Jack, the failed grade reflects that you do not have the ability to make it in law school. You should consider another career path.” I was shaken to the core.

After a day of prayer and reflection, I went to the Registrar’s Office at the University and dropped the class. I was not going to let my professor’s judgment kill my dream. I had signed up for a pre-law class not “Dream Killer 101.”

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 God, I could’ve easily given up. I could’ve quit and not fulfilled the gifts God gave me to serve others in my calling as a collaborative divorce attorney.

I chose to drop that class as I did not want to spend my precious time and energy trying to overcome the negative energy of the professor or his view of me or deal with one who was unwittingly a killer of dreams.

God has spoken to us in Scripture as to the importance of building each other up. We have a duty to lift others up when they fall and not tear them down, diminish their hopes or destroy their dreams.

1 Corinthians 14:26

What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!

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

God, 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.

God, please help all those, who in the name of honesty, dampen, diminish or destroy the hopes and dreams of others. By Your love, may dream killers be transformed into co-creators of Your dreams for humankind.

God, 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.

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Prayer for Teamwork in Fields of Dreams – July 26, 2020

July 25, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

For the video of Jack reading this prayer, please click here.

Friday evening, Dorothy and I watched the Houston Astros play the Seattle Mariners. The Astros won. Although the game was only attended by cardboard fans, other fans, like us, across America watched the teams they supported on their televisions. Of course, we liked that our team won. But, especially now, that is not what was and is most important.

As Dorothy and I watched the Mariners game, I reflected on the baseball game my father took me to in April of 1962. This was the second game of a three game series between the Houston Colt .45s (now the Astros) and the Chicago Cubs. Dad had checked me out of the hospital that evening to see the game. Soon, my mind transported me back to feel the cool breeze under the glow of the outfield flood lights. The taste and smell of hot-buttered popcorn. Shelling and consuming too many roasted salty peanuts. Hearing the loud voices yelling, “Ice cold beer.”

It was the evening before a risky 5-hour surgery for my orthopedic surgeon, Dr Paul Harrington, to carefully place three steel rods along the spine in my back. As Dad and I sat behind home plate, neither of us knew what the outcome of the game would be or how I would benefit from the surgery over my lifetime, if I survived the operation.

Dad and I knew the next day at Methodist Hospital would begin with the team of doctors, an anesthesiologist, and nurses working together as one to bring their different skills to perform my operation. Dr. Harrington could not have done the surgery alone anymore than a team of only one player could have beaten the Cubs that night.

My operation was an outstanding success because everyone on Dr. Harrington’s team did their best for me. The medical team did the very best to provide me with the best opportunity to have a life well-lived. I am still here today living and loving in the field of God’s dreams for me. Writing books and these prayers too. Helping couples divorce one another without destroying the families, harming the co-parenting relationship between parents or needlessly hurting their kids.

The Cubs most notable player was Ernie Banks, the great Hall of Famer. Ironically, the final Colt .45 pitcher for relief that evening was Richard “Turk” Farrell. Turk had polio like me. That night, Turk represented hope to me that one day I might be an athlete like him. With one large leg and one small withered leg, Turk at the time was one of the league’s most outstanding pitchers. Turk was named to represent Houston in both All-Star Games held that season.

Late in the game with Colt’s Bob Aspromonte in left field and Ernie Banks on 3^rd base, the Cub’s batter at the plate face Turk at the mound. The batter hit a long drive deep to left field. In a play I will never forget, Bob Aspromonte caught the ball near the left field fence. As Bob Aspromonte threw the ball to home plate, Ernie Banks tagged 3^rd base and headed to home plate. Hal Smith, our catcher, fielded the perfectly thrown ball. Ernie Banks was called out. That play saved the game as the Colts won 2-0.

As demonstrated in the movie Field of Dreams, we all need hope. Lives in which teamwork is valued. Where all of us joined together can do more than anyone of us can ever do alone. The prospect of sports being played under the cloud of the Coronavirus, shows us the value of teamwork. Teamwork that is far more important than the team who wins the game. For it is teamwork which will get us out of the Pandemic. It is teamwork which provides the best chance for everyone to succeed on the field of play, on the field of life and in the fields of our dreams. Whether it’s the Houston Astros, the Seattle Mariners, the Texans, Manchester United or any other sports team around the world, we need to celebrate the achievements of teamwork and the role each of us have to play at this time and forever.

God has spoken to us in Scripture about the importance of teamwork.

1 Corinthians 12:14• says; For the body is not one member, but many.

Additionally, in 1 Peter 4:10 it is said that: As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.

The message is very clear and simple, yet profound. We are God’s team. The body of God’s work and spirit on Earth. The body of God’s work is not supported by one person, but by every one of us. We are as one. We are our strongest, most victorious and formidable when we work together in unity. Teamwork is the key to opening the door to God’s heavenly love on Earth. To the fields of God’s dreams for us.

God, we thank You for those teams which have assembled to play their respective sports during this time of Pandemic.

God, we thank You for the courage and sacrifice of every athlete who has brought his or her talents on the field of play for us to enjoy, to celebrate, to be inspired by and to hope for what lies ahead of us at this time.

God, we thank You for the hope that one day soon the cloud of the Coronavirus will be lifted by Your grace through the teamwork of talented health care professionals. Professionals who bring their individual talents to serve as one team to win the deadly game the Coronavirus is playing against humanity.

God, in prayer, please guide us to act as one and to do our part in controlling the spread of the Coronavirus.

God, we pray that one day soon, may we all attend games of sport, sit in the stands, eat hot-buttered popcorn, and shell roasted peanuts as we watch America’s favorite Pastime. Let us be Your best team members in the field of dreams which dwell within each one of us because of Your love and spirit in every one of us. Amen

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Prayer to Save Every Piece of Dry Wood, July 19 – 2020

July 19, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

For the video of Jack reading this prayer, please click here.

Some days I feel that other people in America, like me, are in a kind of conflictual fog. So many different sounds in the distance asking us to go in different directions. So many excited voices telling us the best paths to take to reach a good place for all in the Pandemic. The good place where everyone is best protected from harm or death. As Americans, we are all on the same boat. But, due to the Constitution, we each hold separate oars. Separate voices. Separate choices to make in a country that allows us to be free, to express our opinions and our political beliefs.

Amidst the fog of conflicting expressions of right and wrong. Black and white. Liberal and conservative. Steadfast advocates for democracy and fears of socialism. Those who trust science and those who believe vaccinations are conspiratorial plots, hidden Orwellian threats to humanity. Those who plead with everyone to do their part to care for others by just wearing masks, washing their hands, and socially distancing. Others with loud voices saying they have freedom of expression and speech. They do not have to wear masks regardless of their impact on others. Preservation of their individual freedoms is far better than the greater good doctors and epidemiologists proclaim. Those who say that COVID 19 is real, deadly, and harmful after 600,000 persons have died thus far in the world. Others, who with equal fervor, saying with confidence that the Pandemic is just a hoax.

As I was praying to God this week to reconcile the conflict and anger within me towards others with whom I disagree I read the following quote by Klaus Stohr, a hero in the successful fight against SARS:

“It’s not the vaccine that’s going to end the pandemic. The virus will end this pandemic by burning every piece of dry wood it will find”

These words sound as though there is nothing we can do at this point to save ourselves from the Coronavirus. It is not comforting to realize the dry wood of which this pioneer is referring is you and me.

It took over 65 years to eradicate polio worldwide even with a vaccine. Even if we have one billion vaccines to immunize others next year, there are 7.5 billion people on Earth. Mr. Stohr said that until vaccines for COVID are proven and administered throughout America and the world, he believes we should do all we can to prevent and reduce the spread of a virulent fire. A fire that will continue to burn and extinguish the lives of people we love. People who can reclaim in the near future the right to die in the presence of those they love. FaceTime in ICU is no substitute for embracing the last breath of a loved one. Holding hands. Hugging. Saying goodbye in the physical.

God, in prayer please help all of us to reconcile the conflict among us and within us as to what we can do and say to save ourselves and one another from the Coronavirus.

God, in prayer please help us find the proper balance in clinging to our individual rights and in administering to and caring for others.

God, please help us to save every piece of dry wood from being needlessly burned in the Pandemic. For in that wood is Your every child. A child who carries within him or her the flame of Your Holy Spirit, abundant worth, and love.

A flame more powerful than any virus.

A light that shows us the pathway to truly care for others and be of proper service to You. Amen

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