Bending Angel

Prayer for Simplicity in Our Complex World – June 13, 2021

June 13, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

When I was a young student in middle school I and my classmates read Walden by Henry David Thoreau, the great American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. Like most young souls I did not have any idea about the complexities of adulthood. After all, my parents took care of everything. What could’ve been simpler than that?

At the University of Houston, my wonderful Sociology Professor, Sheila Sheinberg, caused me to revisit Thoreau. Sheila warned her students about how our gadgets and possessions would soon pose significant barriers to experiencing nature. To live the simple life. Further, as we owned more of them, we would have to work ever harder to pay for them. All the hours and days spent working to pay for them would represent time away from the beauty of the Earth God created for us to enjoy. That Sociology class was long before the Internet of Things, Facebook, Google, personal computers, the iPhone, and other electronic devices.

With age and technology I find myself, like you, a human cyborg of sorts navigating a more and more increasingly complex and overly stimulated existence. My wheelchair has become my legs. My ear pods have become my ears. My iPhone and Google have become my augmented brain. I have to work hard to be fully in the present and to strive for the simple living in natural surroundings which Thoreau set as an example for all of us.

I do not know if Professor Sheinberg is alive anymore or where she lives. But, her love of teaching the good and simple life remains in my heart and mind so many years later.

God has spoken to us in Scripture about simplicity and contentment.

1 Timothy 6:6-8
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Proverbs 11:28
Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

Dear God, when I awaken tomorrow, may my heart be ever grateful for Your gift to me of another day on Earth.

God, with prayer every day please help me to look forward to seeing, hearing, feeling, and touching the beauty around me.

To hold a young child.

To embrace one I love.

To hear a bird’s song or the notes of a beautiful symphony.

To listen in the silence of prayer for the beat of angel wings around me.

To plan at least one simple, small thing to look forward to or accomplish this day.

God, in being more mindful and present each and every day may I see a glimpse of the joy, pleasure and peace that await me in Heaven with You. 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 Feed the Best Wolf within Us – June 6, 2021

June 6, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

My wife, Dorothy, loves to watch murder mysteries on television. One of her favorites is Death in Paradise. After she watched Episode 6 of Season 6, Dorothy said to me, “You have to watch the scene in this show.”

While on a stakeout, in passing the time, Jack said to Humphrey “My grandfather told me a story once. About these two wolves fighting inside all of us. One of them was anger, envy, self-pity, regret. And the other one is love, truth, faith, hope. That sort of thing. I asked him which one of the wolves would win? You know what he said? He said, ‘Whichever one you feed’.”

The tale of the two wolves existed long before the screenplay was written for Death in Paradise. To me, the wolves represent the heavenly voice in each of us. And the earthly voice which speaks to all of us in our walks of faith. One part of us is self-centered. Focusing on the self. I am the most important. My needs come first. I have every right to express my anger. To blame others for what happens to me. To hold a grudge. I am never part of a problem I face. I know the solution to everything. I have the right, in all honesty, to share my opinion and judgment with and overlay my will on others.

Which wolf inside of you and me will win the race? Which voice will prevail? The one which reflects God’s love? Which speaks His truth? The one that brings us closer to God and one another? Or the one which takes us the wrong direction. The path of indifference, intolerance, and even hate. The self-righteous and judgmental which is really closer to Hell on Earth for us? The one in you who will win is the one you feed. The good and Godly one who receives from you food for the soul. Nourishment of the spirit.

What can you do to feed the good and Godly part of you? Go to church. Read scripture. Take a Bible class. Pray daily. Do acts of kindness for others. Volunteer at a food bank or soup kitchen. Listen to or sing hymns. Seek your own way to nourish the best part of you who God created.

As to the heavenly voice in me, I use prayer and scripture every day to hear it. To deafen my ears from hearing the earthly, spiritless and dark voices which separate me from others and most importantly, God.

With Facebook, social media, NBC, CNN, FOX News, podcasts galore, being left, middle, right, liberal, conservative, Democratic, Republican or Independent we hear so much. With God’s help are you able to protect yourself from words or acts of hatred that feed the lesser, the bad wolf in you? In listening to certain dialogue or viewing certain online videos are you feeding the best wolf in you? Are you feeding the part of you which is love, gives love, and lives life closer to God and your neighbor?

God has spoken in scripture as to the importance of feeding the spirit in You and me.

Matthew 4:4
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Dear God, as Your children we have the need to hear Your word.
God, in prayer please help us to hear Your word. If we are not feeding our soul, we are feeding something else.

God, please help us to be ever mindful to feed the good and sacred part in us. For that is necessary for our spirits to grow and to magnify Your love on Earth. For our service to You to be acts of love, truth, faith, hope.

God, in the story the better wolf which is fed by us will live. In Your story of the birth, death, and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our spirits which are fed by You will live and love forever. 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 www.BendingAngel.com website.

Photo credit: Movemequotes.com

Prayers for Mothers Every Day – May 16, 2021

May 15, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

I enjoyed reading all of your Facebook posts about your mothers. So many of your posts touched my heart in the same memorable way my mother’s life and love touched mine.

This year I wanted to wait a week to post this prayer recalling what my Brother-in-Christ, Ivan Butterfield, said to me many years ago. His words survived his death from cancer several years ago. “Jack, if you want to do something special for one you love, do it on an ordinary day. People expect you to do something for them on their birthdays, anniversaries, and on Mother’s and Father’s Days. But, doing special things for others on ordinary days magnifies how much you truly care for them.”

Mom has been gone for 12 years. Yet, I think of her every day and especially on Mother’s Day. Mom is gone but not really gone. The lessons I learned from her rise from the ashes of her body of work for me as my mother.

From her, I learned there is no greater or more important thing a woman can do on Earth than bring a child into the world. From God’s cosmic womb and out of her own miraculous womb of love, a child of God was born.

Mom viewed me as a gift to her and Dad from God. I flourished under Mom’s nurturing. Then, polio struck when I was only six. Thereafter, when I felt different, she always treated me the same. Special.

When I felt ugly, disabled, and unlovable, Mom loved me as I was. As I was not anymore.

Mom never gave up on me. So, I never gave up on myself or my dreams.

Mom reminded me that if I was unconditionally accepted by God, why could I not accept the way I was after paralysis. In high school, Mom confidently said that God would send me a woman who could look beyond my deformities and disabilities and love me too. Like her. Like God. Like a future bride. The one named Dorothy God sent my way my Junior year in College.

Mom’s love could not undo the damage polio did to my body. But, like a good mother, she did all she could to give me the best chance for the best outcome with education, therapy, surgery, rehabilitation, and consistent love and care.

Every day, I apply this lesson from Mom in my calling as a Collaborative Divorce Attorney. I cannot undo the things that break up marriages. But, along with a team of other professionals, I can give divorcing couples the best chance for the best outcome in dissolving their marriage.

I can help divorcing parents show their kids how to say goodbye with civility, dignity, and love. A legacy. A message in a bottle. An example for them to follow if their marriages are irretrievably broken.

As a family law attorney over four decades, I have witnessed mothers who have sacrificed their biological children and given them up for adoption. Step-mothers adopting step-children who are treated and loved as biological children would be. Mothers who spend their entire lives caring for severely disabled children. Foster moms who temporarily care for kids and tearfully let them go to their new families. I have seen mothers courageously leave violent marriages so that their kids are raised in peaceable and safe homes. I have witnessed surrogate mothers carry children for nine months and then let them go so that couples will be childless no more. Surrogate mothers who don’t do this just for money but to bless childless couples with blessed children.

God has spoken to us in scripture about the blessings and qualities of mothers.

Proverbs 31:25:
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

Proverbs 31:26:
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

Proverbs 31:31:
Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Psalm 139:13-14:
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

1 Peter 3:4:
You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

Let us pray.
Dear God, in prayer we thank You for our mothers. In them, we saw Your Face for the very first time.

God, please help us to remember, honor, and praise our mothers on ordinary days for being so special to us every day in our lives.

God, help us to apply the lessons we learned from our mothers in how we treat others and our own kids and grandkids. In doing so our mother’s love lives on in us and You, our God, dwell in the hearts of generations and generations of children everywhere. Amen.

If you like this prayer, please share.

Prayer for Accidental Tourists – May 2, 2021

May 2, 2021 by Jack Emmott 1 Comment

Click here to watch Jack’s video of this prayer.

Last Friday we celebrated the life of my brother-in-law, Rick Sutherland, a 1965 Cy-Fair graduate. Family and friends gathered at the Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery. The place where Rick’s body was buried. The fact that his casket could not be seen after the burial did not cover up the bravery, the service, or the Purple Heart he earned in Vietnam.

As we drove to the area to see Rick’s flag-draped coffin, I was humbled and moved to see the thousands of headstones of men and women like him who served our Country. Some lives ended too soon as casualties of war. Others living long lives and finding their final resting places here – to be remembered and honored as heroes of America.

The silence suddenly shattered by the firing of the three-gun salute. The bugler playing the final taps. The solemn folding of the sacred American flag. The presentation of the flag to Rick’s beautiful and broken-hearted daughter, Amanda. Amanda’s cheeks wet with tears of grief running down from her eyes. Rain pouring from the clouds above as if the angels were shedding their own tears for Rick.

Following the burial service, we attended the Memorial service at the Foundry United Methodist Church. Pastor Scott Basso led the service for Rick. Scott’s opening words inspired this prayer. ‘We are all accidental tourists. We each live our lives on Earth. Yet, this is not our home. Our home is where Rick is now. Rick’s home is with God.”

Aren’t we all accidental tourists? We have no voice in deciding the time, the date, or place of our birth. We do not select our parents or our brothers and sisters. We have no say in the body God selects to ensoul with our spirit. Our nationality or the color of our skin is not our choice either. Regardless, we are all the same. We are all children of God. Whether we are rich or poor. Have long lives or die too soon. Whether we are disabled or able-bodied. Book worms or athletes. Confined to a wheelchair with polio. A Purple Heart recipient. Live lives of privilege or poverty or sacrifice. We are all truly accidental tourists. We are born. We all will die. We struggle as best we can to navigate the labyrinth of life. Then, the angels guide us Home to be with the Father of all of us.

In Scripture God has spoken to us about the heavenly home He has prepared for us.

John 14:1-2
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

2 Corinthians 5:1
For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Let us pray together.

God, in prayer, we thank You for the gift of life in the presence of Your love on Earth.

God, in prayer, we thank You for our earthen bodies, bodies you have ensouled with Your spirit and love to shine and share with our brothers and sisters.

God, just like Rick, we all may be accidental tourists on Earth. But we know it is no accident that You have plans for us. You will be our final resting place when our hearts stop beating.

God, we thank You for preparing a place for us in heaven. For in heaven we will no longer be accidental tourists. Rather, we will be Your children. Children wrapped in Your spirit of love, of light, and unconditional acceptance forever and ever. Amen.

If you like this prayer, please share.

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 for Noah’s Flood, Enemas, and Cleansing Prayer – March 28, 2021

March 28, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

God and mankind have been dealing with messes forever. In the Old Testament God was so dissatisfied with the level of sin of His children on Earth He brought about a flood of waters so deep and powerful that only the humans and animal inhabitants on the Ark survived. God used the flood to wash away the mess mankind had made on Earth.

My dear mother was of German descent. Somewhere in her upbringing, she must have learned to believe that an enema was good for whatever ailed the body. In fact, there was no limit on the condition I had as a child to justify getting another enema from Mom. A fever. Yes. A runny nose. Yes. A cough. Yes. Lethargy. Yes. At those moments Mom was always prepared to say, “Bubba, drop your drawers. It’s time for an enema.” No need for me to complain. It was going to happen.

In fact, the benefit of enemas was also embraced by one of my aunts to address one of my first cousins repeatedly getting a sick stomach at school. For three straight days, my aunt received a call from the school. The nurse said, “Billy (not his real name) is complaining his stomach hurts. You need to come and get him.” On the third day, upon arriving home from school with my cousin, my aunt informed him, “I need to give you an enema now since you are too sick to stay at school.” My cousin replied, “I feel much better now.” That offered no relief in avoiding the enema. My aunt stated frankly, “If you don’t feel good enough to stay in school, you must feel bad enough to get an enema.” The enema must have cured my cousin’s stomach problem as he never had the nurse call home again for the rest of his education.

I personally deal with the messes of others in my calling as a collaborative divorce attorney. I have learned that the benefits of prayer are profound. Whether the divorce is caused by adultery, an addiction, insensitivity to meeting the needs for affection, or other breaches of trust, it naturally causes anger, bitterness, lack of forgiveness, and anxiety. Those emotions do not help resolve divorce in a constructive or loving way. The emotional weeds get in the way of seeing the big picture. What is most important? The children. Showing the kids how to end legal relationships. Acting to effectively co-parent the children with a former spouse. To protect the kids from being involved in parental conflict. Or, alternatively, using the lawyers, the courts, the legal system, and even worse the kids to punish the other spouse. To focus on blame and the problems instead of on peacemaking and finding solutions.

In my practice, I have witnessed that prayers in divorce have cleansed the hearts and minds of the emotional mess of the spouses I have served. Their divorces were resolved because of the results of prayer. Forgiveness. Compassion. Empathy. Understanding. Even mercy.

God has spoken to us in Scripture about such things as the cleansing of the Earth, the body, and the spirit.

Genesis 7:11
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

Psalm 107:28-30
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Let us pray.

God, in prayer please help us to wash away our sins which separate us from You and others in our lives and in our greater world.

God, in Baptismal water, we are marked as Yours forever. May we as Your children be made purer and more reflective of Your love in what we think, in what we say, and in what we do because of daily prayer. Last, in prayer may we find the most powerful cleansing agent on Earth. Your love for us despite our messes, our faults, our failings, and our imperfections. 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 www.BendingAngel.com website.

Photo credit: WalMart

Prayer for Dimes for Times to Reflect Kindness – March 19, 2021

March 19, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

Click here for Jack’s video of this prayer.

My mother knew that my favorite birthday cake was chocolate with her smooth dark buttery chocolate icing. Every year in my youth she placed before me a beautiful single-layer homemade chocolate birthday cake. I blew out the candles which glowed with the light of her love for me. As I was her birthday boy she cut the first piece of the cake just for me. Mom always gave me the piece which contained a shiny dime wrapped in aluminum foil. That tradition for me and my siblings and that dime reflected my mother’s kindness. That simple act made me feel special and valued by her. Even though polio changed me and the number of the candles on each cake in the years which followed were different, I always received from Mom that same simple token of love and kindness from her.

My mother died in 2010. Yet, the remembrance of the dimes she placed in my birthday cakes keeps reflecting her acts of kindness to me.

After the polio epidemic in America, the March of Dimes campaign raised millions for victims like and thousands of others. Those acts of kindness in donating dimes even paid for the Iron Lung I used for four years after contracting polio.

In the early 1990s, I took a Rainbow Trout fishing trip on the White River with my dear friend, Bill. (I name him Bill as he and his beautiful wife are private people). Bill and I had one of the best guides on the river, “Hot Dog Curtis.” As we peacefully floated down a portion of the White River near Bull Shoals, we were catching Rainbow Trout right and left. Bill was so impressed with Hot Dog’s talents he asked for his business card. As Hot Dog leaned across the boat and pulled his card out of his wallet, a dime fell out of it and into the river. The water was moving nearly 14 miles an hour because a large number of flood gates were open at Bull Shoals Dam. The spring-fed water was nearly 40°. When the dime hit the water, Hot Dog screamed, “Oh, No. I’ve lost the dime my father gave me before he died. It’s my good luck charm.”

Instantly Bill said, “Don’t worry, Hot Dog. I’ll jump in the water and get it for you.” Hot Dog replied, “No, you don’t have to do that for me.” To that Bill said, “Yes, I do. No problem.” To my amazement, Bill took off his shirt and jumped into the frigid water. Under the conditions, I thought the chances of recovering the dime at the bottom of the river was impossible. After the first dive into the water, Bill came up empty. After a deep breath, Bill dove back in. Again, for the second time, Bill came up empty. Then, on his third attempt, Bill rose to the surface with Hot Dog’s dime in his right hand and gave it back to him. Hot Dog profusely thanked Bill for his sacrificial act of human kindness.

I had an occasion to speak to Hot Dog last week. Hot Dog is 62 years old now. We spoke about the trip he took with Bill and me many years ago. Hot Dog said that he doesn’t know where the wallet or the dime is anymore. But, he said he will never forget Bill stepping out of the warmth of his comfort zone that day, diving into the frigid water, and doing an exceptional act of kindness for him.

Acts of kindness never die. They keep on living and keep on giving to us purpose and self-worth. Acts of kindness are not confined to those from my mother or those from Bill. All of us have received them from others. We all have the capacity to be kind to others.

God has spoken to us in Scripture about kindness.

Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such, there is no law.

Let us pray,

God, in prayer please help our hearts to see and seize opportunities to be kind to others. It is in giving acts of kindness to others that we receive pleasure in knowing we have truly helped them.

God, please enable us to know that when we are kind to others for their sake, not ours that we are serving You, our Creator of everlasting life, love, and light.

Last, God, may we acknowledge that a small act of kindness can have profound consequences for another. Stopping to give a bottle of cold water to a homeless man or woman on a hot day; paying for a cup of coffee for the person behind in the line at Starbucks, or just listening to a person recounting a loss or personal difficulty, or a receiving a dime in a birthday cake for a young boy. Well, God, like Your love for us, our kindness can shine in the memory of others for a lifetime. Kindness can even author a prayer like this. Amen

If you like this prayer, please share.

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 www.BendingAngel.com website.

Prayer for the Bit of George the Pelican in Each of Us – March 7, 2021

March 7, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

Click here for Jack’s video version of this prayer.

Last week’s prayer on the Everlasting Legacy of Love originated from observing George the Pelican and witnessing his return to the place he received love and acceptance from our neighbor Mertz. Mertz’s legacy of love touched many on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. I appreciated all the comments on Facebook. In particular, an email from Michael Craig, one of my dearest friends and wonderful collaborative divorce attorney, struck me in the heart. So much so Michael’s remarks became the basis of this week’s sequel prayer and the title of this prayer.

Michael wrote:

Dear Jack, A marvelous prayer and a wonderful illustration of love and devotion. This legacy of love is truly something to hand down to our children and our children’s children. Sadly, it also reflects the nature of a widow or widower after a half-century with a devoted spouse. Old habits and committed love die hard. Many of my continual habits of affection with Betty, even during this last chapter of her life in a cloud of Alzheimer’s, will continue by virtue of habit after she is gone. And so there is a bit of George in each of us. A habit that is not so much a longing as one that retains a fond memory.

In this long time of the Long Goodbye, Michael has made sure that as there is less and less of Betty there is more and more of him. More and more of his love. More and more of the Light of God in his service to Betty, his devoted wife, and bride.

Michael observed that soon Betty will be gone to make her final journey to Heaven to join the God she faithfully served in her ministry at The Foundry United Methodist Church in Jersey Village, Texas. But like George, Michael knows that as long as his heartbeats and his mind can remember, he will return each day to the place where Betty was with him and where he received her devoted love and care.

Whether due to Alzheimer’s, cancer, a tragic accident, the Coronavirus or just old age, the truth Michael speaks is that there is a George the Pelican in all of us. The person who is left behind. The one who remembers. The one who returns to the place love was received. The place where love was given. To feed on glorious memory and the innumerable blessings God bestowed on the one left behind through the kindness, care, and love of the departed. God has spoken to us in Scripture about what happens to those left behind and what fills the void and the darkness in the wake of the death of loved ones.

Luke 1:78-79

Because of our God’s deep compassion, the dawn from heaven will break upon us, to give light to those who are sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide us on the path of peace.

Revelation 21:4-5

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.

Let us pray together.

God, we thank You for Michael Craig’s enlightened words that there is a bit of George the Pelican in all of us.

God, we thank You for Betty and all others who have lived, served, and loved in Your name. God, when we sit in the pain of loss and in the darkness of grief, please give us peace and light.

God, please embrace the bit of George in all of us with Your never-failing love, comfort, and healing. Amen.

If you like this prayer, please share.

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 www.BendingAngel.com website.

Photo credit: Parade.com

Prayer for the Everlasting Legacy of Love – February 28, 2021

February 28, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

Click here to enjoy Jack’s video version of this prayer.

For the last five months Dorothy and I have sought refuge from the Coronavirus at Camp PawPaw. Camp PawPaw overlooks Tres Palacios Bay with a myriad of water fowl to entertain us from dawn until sunset each day. Some of the water creatures seem to perform the same way day after day. Others appear for a few weeks and will not be seen again for a while in observance of migratory habits rooted in ancient history.

One repeat performer is a beautiful Brown Pelican who lands nearly every day on the stair rail of Sissy Taylor’s pier a few houses down from us. The Pelican is an elder by human standards. He has an 18-inch-long bill and a large throat pouch. His head is white in front and dark brown in the back. This regal bird has silver-gray feathers that adorn the rest of his body.

Judging by his appearance our frequent Pelican visitor must be about 25-30 years old. Clearly near the end of his time on Earth.

Countless times Dorothy and I have wondered why the Pelican returns to this unlikely perch. All the other Pelicans sit on the ends of the neighboring barnacle encrusted navigation posts in the bay or lined up like a platoon of Army soldiers on the ends of the piers at the conclusion of their exhausting day dive bombing for fish in the bay. But not our Pelican. He is committed to always return to the same perch. But, why?

The mystery became clear a couple of weeks ago. Our friend, Sissy Taylor, explained it to us. Twenty years or so ago there lived in a neighboring house a Magnus Mertz. Known to everyone simply as Mertz. Each day Mertz cast for bait fish with his casting net. A Pelican landed near him. He stood there as if to ask Mertz to be served him a meal, his daily bread from man to a feathered friend. Mertz gave the Pelican part of his catch. After that first meeting, the Pelican and Mertz repeated that ritual nearly every day for the years which followed. They eventually, became such good friends Mertz named the Pelican George. Soon George was following Mertz into his garage to be hand-fed mullet and just hang out with him.

Mertz moved away from Palacios a few years later to live closer to his family. Relocating to be with family was a huge win for Mertz. But, it was a big loss for George.

So, even now, many years later and without receiving his daily bread and friendship from Mertz, George still returns. Still remembers. Still sits on his perch. To be at kind of holy place. A place that Dorothy and I witness and appreciate Mertz’ everlasting legacy of love to George. George officiates the sacred happening that we are fortunate to know and celebrate because we understand the mystery revealed to us by Sissy.

God has spoken to us in Scripture as to the legacy of love.

Proverbs 13:22
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.

Psalms 78:4
We will not keep them from our children; we will tell the next generation about the Lord‘s power and his great deeds and the wonderful things he has done.

3 John 1:4
I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.

God, I thank You for the lesson in the everlasting legacy of love as represented by George, the Brown Pelican, on Tres Palacios Bay.

God, in prayer please guide, support and enable me to leave an everlasting legacy of love in my service to You and Your children.

God, when I have joined You in Heaven, please show to others on Earth the signs of my works in Your name as I have witnessed in watching the George, the Brown Pelican. Each day he pays homage to the blessings he received from his friend, the fisherman and the giver of daily bread that feeds George’s soul forever and ever. Amen.

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Prayer in Thanksgiving for the Life of Mary Ann Maxwell – February 21, 2021

February 22, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

With her life-long devoted friend Carol Waldrop at her side in Rockport, Texas on February 6, 2021, Mary Ann Maxwell left the Earth.

In sending her to us God had special plans for Mary Ann’s life. The gifts which He bestowed upon Mary Ann enabled her to become a world-renowned bridal authority. First, working at Saks Fifth Avenue in Hollywood, California. Then, at Neiman Marcus and Sakowitz in Houston. Thereafter, Mary Ann opened her own extremely successful bridal consulting business in 1978.

For more than 40 years Mary Ann was chosen by brides in Texas, in America, and from royalty to be adorned with glamour and beauty.

At the age of 9 in 1936 in Dallas, Texas at the Texas Centennial Exposition (Texas State Fair) Mary Ann was selected to hand over to child movie star and Honorary Chief of the Rangerettes, Shirley Temple, a cowgirl doll made in Shirley’s image. Now, it is only fitting that the angels have handed over to God Mary Ann’s spirit to hold in His arms.

God, in prayer we thank You for the life and love of Mary Ann Maxwell.

God, we trust that our dear Mary Ann through resurrection and Your grace has now become one with You, the Father of us all. Amen

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Prayer in Grieving for the Loss of Pets – February 7, 2021

February 6, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

Click here for Jack’s video version of this prayer.

I have a picture of my dad, Jack, age 2, holding his favorite chicken in the backyard of his grandmother’s house near Washington and Heights Boulevard in 1922. On January 23, 2021, he would’ve been 102 years of age. Dad died in 2015. His grandmother, Catharine Mary Emmott, the Mother of Memorial Park died in 1948. The grand home is gone too. But, the memory of my dad holding that chicken endures. It is somehow timeless.

Dad was stationed in Italy for five years in WWII. He talked to me about the beauty of Rome, Florence, and Milan. But like the Greatest Generation, he never talked about the war. Another thing he almost never did in my presence was cry.

I recall only two times I saw him cry. He wept in our living room when his bird dog, Pirate, died unexpectedly during the veterinarian’s attempt to kill heartworms before they ended up killing his beloved dog. Dad was so grief-stricken he did not even wipe the tears from his eyes and face.

The second time was when he had to put down Rudy, his black German Shepard, when the dog was so ill, he could no longer get up from the ground on his four legs. Dad petted Rudy’s forehead several times. Then, Dad loaded his WWII German Lugar 22 Caliber Pistol. With a trembling hand and broken heart, pulled the trigger and gave his dear pet, Rudy, a merciful ending to a life well-lived.
Don’t get me wrong. I am sure that Dad grieved for the loss of his wife, my mother Lucile, his parents, siblings, and close friends. But, openly crying in the sight of others was not something I ever witnessed except for Pirate and Rudy.

On Facebook, everyone sees and shares the grief which happens when their four-footed pet dog or cat becomes a memory of the past and another of God’s angel creatures in Heaven. I think the tears of my father and such sharing of grief on Facebook demonstrates just how much the relationship with our pets teaches us about the unconditional love of God. How great it would be if every one of us as God’s children could be as unconditionally loving as Pirate and Rudy were to Dad or as loving as your pets have been to you, my friends.

God has spoken to us in Scripture about what can be taught to us by our pets and uplifting words to heal our grief for the loss of them.

Job 12:7-10
7 But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish in the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the LORD has done this?
10 In his hand is the life of every creature
and the breath of all mankind.

Revelation 21:4-5
4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new! Then he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.

God, in prayer, we thank You for our beloved pets for through them You’ve taught us about Your unconditional, everlasting love.
God, in prayer, please help us to love one another as we are loved by Your creatures, great and small.

God, in prayer, please provide to each of us the comfort and care we need to heal the grieving for the loss of our pets.

God, in prayer, may we receive Your holy hope that one day we will be reunited in Heaven with our pets. That our barking and purring fur angels will be seen racing to greet us. That we may share with them in Heaven the love which lasts forever and ever. Amen

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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 www.BendingAngel.com website.