Bending Angel

Prayer for Lessons Learned from My Senior Prom — October 10, 2021

October 11, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

As a Senior at Cy-Fair High School, I was much more excited about going to the Prom than getting my diploma. I made perfect plans for the making of an everlasting life-long memory. But what I remember now, decades later, are the lessons I learned from that experience.

Because of my father’s relationship with Bob Sakowitz, I had the opportunity to rent Mr. Sakowitz’s Rolls-Royce for the evening of the Prom. What could be grander than that? I worked for a year at Oak Village Theater to earn enough money to pay for the Rolls to be driven by Mr. Sakowitz’s personal Chauffer, Johnny Cole. A year of sacrifice to pay for it was a lot of money. Surely, the sacrifice would be worth it.

As Johnny, the Chauffer, drove down Emmott Road to pick up my brother Charles and me, there was a big problem. A drunk white man with a lead pipe in his hand motioned the Black Chauffeur to pull over. He yelled, “Hey, n….r, what the hell are you doing around here? Get out of the car and come talk to me.” Obviously, Johnny did not accept the invitation from the bigoted man. Instead, Johnny drove the car into the driveway of John Guhn’s parents on Fairbanks-North Houston. Johnny got out of the Rolls. He hurriedly ran to the front door for refuge. Thankfully, Mr. and Mrs. Guhn let Johnny in to protect him from the angry drunk man who was waiting outside in the yard with the pipe in his hand. The police were called. After the police arrested the man, Johnny, the Chauffer, came to pick us up.

What a start to my perfect evening. Besides getting to ride in a Rolls-Royce to the Prom, my date was a pretty Cy-Fair girl who was also a cheerleader for the Houston Oilers. She had recently broken up with a Cy-Fair senior football player. Because of that, she accepted my invitation to be my Prom date.

Everything was set up for me to have a fabulous time. Mr. Sakowitz’s Rolls-Royce and his personal Chauffeur. Attending the Prom at the Warwick Hotel (now Hotel Zaza). And spending the evening with a cheerleader for the Oilers.

Things did not turn out the way that I had planned. The evening started out with our Chauffeur, Johnny, being accosted. Then, at the Prom, my date temporarily reconciled with her former boyfriend, the high school football player. I sat there watching the two of them kiss on the dance floor.

The football player’s date in tears walked over to my table. Her name was Leah Lawson. The evening was not going as she had planned either. I looked at Leah as the tears flowed down her face. I said, “Leah, why don’t we leave the Prom and spend some time together driving around town?” Leah replied, “That would be nice.”

Johnny drove us up and down Westheimer past Putt-Putt Golf and the A&W Drive-in. Then, down Main Street to have chocolate malts at Prince’s. For the two hours that we spent together away from the Prom, there was no romance. No holding hands, hugging or kissing. Just friendship and a little tenderness when things were not going well for either of us.

Now, decades later what I remember most and value from that Prom experience are the lessons I learned from that difficult and unexpected evening.
– Gratitude for Mr. and Mrs. Guhn opening the front door to spare the Chauffeur, from hate.
– The falsity of my belief that spending money on things, such as a Rolls-Royce on Prom night, guaranteed happiness, joy, and peace.
– The unexpected comforting friendship of Leah Lawson at a time when it was needed.

Even at my age, I still can see Leah sitting in the back seat of the car. Leah being with me in all her sweetness and tenderness and as young and beautiful as she was that night. Leah, wherever you are out there, I thank you for your friendship on that Prom night. I hope that your life and love have been as good for you as they have been for me.

God has spoken to us in Scripture about putting our possessions in their proper place.

Psalm 49:17
For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
His glory will not descend after him.

Proverbs 4:7
The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom;
And with all your acquiring, get understanding.

Let us pray together.

Dear God, please help me know that the riches of Your Kingdom do not dwell in my possessions but reside in my heart.

God, please open my heart to others, like Mr. and Mrs. Guhn opened the front door of their loving home to Johnny, a Black Chauffeur, to save him from hate years ago.

God, please enable me in prayer to see that Your love dwells in human kindness and not in things.

God, in prayer please erase in me all thoughts that the things I purchase will provide happiness for me. For, true joy and peace are what I, as Your child, experience most in my relationship with You, now and 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.

Prayer for Watchfulness and God Watching Over Me — October 3, 2021

October 4, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

After a year of rehabilitation from polio at Hedgecroft Hospital, I returned home. My condition had improved. But, I had persistent respiratory infections and bouts of pneumonia. Several times a year Mom lathered my chest with Vick’s Vapor Rub and put a T-Shirt on me at bedtime. How many of you had moms or dads who did that to you?

If my chest cold worsened, Mom set up a vaporizer at the head of my bed to try to open up my chest and to ease my breathing.

Especially when I was sick, I said evening prayers for God to watch over me and to cure what ailed me. Thankfully, God’s love did not act alone. It is delivered to others, like me, through the service of God’s living angels as my mother, Lucile.

Several times when I was struggling to breathe at home and running a fever, I woke up. I had the feeling someone was watching over me. I rolled over in my bed and faced the bedroom door. In the darkness I saw Mom looking down at the watch in her hand. The next thing I knew, Mom and Dad came into my room and said, “Bubba, we are taking you to the hospital now.”

Mom and Dad immediately took me to Hedgecroft Hospital. As soon as I was placed in a bed, the staff attached a Monahan Respirator on my chest to breathe for me, to rest my breathing muscles, so that my energy and resources was used to fight pneumonia.

Sometime later I realized what Mom was doing looking at the watch as she stood in the doorway to my bedroom. Dr. Montgomery asked Mom to monitor my breathing at night. If I was taking more than 28 breaths per minute, I needed to get to the hospital for respiratory support and care.
Although Mom had faith God was watching over me, she knew God would not act alone to protect me, to monitor my breathing, and to take me to the hospital. Like many of your devoted parents, Mom did not just pray to God. Mom did not say, “I will just leave it to You, God, to take care of Bubba tonight.” Or say, “I am so tired. Surely, it will be ok if I just get some rest tonight. I’ve got to take care of myself too.”

Because of Mom’s watchfulness while God watched over me, I made it through the serious respiratory infections polio caused. The watchful eyes in all of us see the light of God in every one of us.

God has spoken to us in Scripture about being watchful.

Psalm 59:9
Because of his strength I will watch for You,
For God is my stronghold.

Proverbs 4:23
Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.

Let us pray together.

Dear God, please watch over me and those I love when I cannot be present with them.

God, please give me the wisdom and strength to watch over those who need my care and comfort as You have cared for and comforted me.

God, I give thanks to You and all Your angels who have bent over me and reflected on my dark paths Your love and light. 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 for Tied Shoe Laces and God’s Good Graces – September 26, 2021

September 26, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

Yesterday, I looked down at my shoes as I sat in my wheelchair. My mind was drawn to the memories as a young boy before and after polio. Memories of my mother tying my shoelaces almost every day until I married Dorothy when I was 23. At age six I had just learned to do that myself. I was almost a big boy. Then, polio took that away from me for the rest of my life.

Without complaint, Mom sat on the floor in front of me before breakfast each day. She put on my socks. Slipped my feet into my shoes. Then, tied the shoelaces with care. This daily ritual said to me without a word from her lips, “There you go my son. Now, you are ready to step forward and tackle what comes your way today.”

After our wedding, my bride, Dorothy, took over the daily ritual of Mom tying my shoelaces. Like my Mom, for more than twice as many years, Dorothy has done daily what Mom did without complaint to make sure I am ready for wherever my walk of faith takes me.

Two extraordinary women. One man receiving the same dependable daily care from two women who’ve loved him. Two women I have never taken for granted. I will remember such gifts of God’s grace until I can remember no more.

From tied shoelaces, I received God’s good graces.

Mom died eleven years ago. At my age as a grown man, it seems silly to wish Mom could show up some morning to tie my shoes again. But, today that is my wish.

How many of you remember your mom or dad doing something daily for you which warms your heart now? The warmth of that kindness, love, and care never fades. God sends to all of us His good graces in such simple, ordinary and loving gifts in our lives.

God has spoken to us in Scripture about His grace and each of us being acts of His grace in service to others.

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

Colossians 3:12
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

Dear God, in prayer I thank you for the many acts of Your grace I have received from those who have loved me as You have loved me.

God, please help me see the gifts of Your grace given me in the simple, the ordinary, and the daily deeds of others.

God, please show me ways to be kind to others in order to share and magnify Your glory and grace in Your Kingdom on Earth. Amen

If you like this prayer, please share.

Prayer for Houses Divided — September 19, 2021

September 20, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

At this moment in the history of dealing with the Pandemic, families in America and around the world are divided. Ripped apart. Fractured in the positions taken about whether or not to be vaccinated. We are all children of one God. Yet, family members are unable to agree on one of the two choices which is best for family health.

The emotional suffering endured in the tectonic shift in families between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated is palpable. Houses are divided between those who choose to be vaccinated to protect themselves and others from Covid. And those who choose not to be vaccinated because the risks of being vaccinated to them outweigh the known risks of Covid.

This prayer is not about the adverse effects of Covid or the number of victims who have died. It is about the families and homes divided by the consequences of deciding to be or not to be vaccinated. It is about the anxiety, stress, and loss occasioned by family members in the abyss of the exercise of individual choice and freedom. Families are literally being torn apart and separated physically and emotionally from those they love.

As a Collaborative Divorce Attorney, as well as a family member, I witness every day the suffering which this prayer addresses. How many of you know of couples having marriage ceremonies that require vaccinations to attend? These are once-in-a-lifetime occasions. The unvaccinated family and friends experience the loss of not attending. The vaccinated family and friends who attend are heartbroken because the unvaccinated are unable to attend. How many of you know of multi-generational homes in which the unvaccinated are asked to leave by the vaccinated owners. The vaccinated owners want to be as safe as possible. They do not want to play Russian roulette with Covid-19 or any of its variants.

How many of you know of grandparents who want to make a grand memory of a family trip with their children and grandchildren to Disneyworld, to explore National Parks, to go to exotic places or foreign countries, or to vacation in the Caribbean Islands. But their children and grandchildren cannot come because they refuse to get vaccinated.

This prayer is not to praise the vaccinated or to fault those who decide not to get the vaccine. In families divided by this issue both sides suffer. The unvaccinated feel alienated and excluded by loved ones. The vaccinated feel the loss of those who are unable to attend birthday celebrations, weddings, vacations, and even funeral services. Often resentment and anger within families add fuel to the fire of despair. This prayer is not about blame or judgment. The world has enough of that. This prayer is about asking God’s help to heal all the suffering in divided houses. A prayer to reunite in God’s time what seems impossible in our time. A prayer for God to do Holy reconciliation in the all too common suffering by family members. All family members need love and hope whether or not the needle has been placed in their arms.

As a dear friend said recently, something sacred, profound, healing, and Holy sometimes only happens when we step aside and make way for our loving God to step in.

God has spoken in Scripture about stepping in after we step away from our troubles.

Proverbs 16:9
We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.
Psalm 138:3
The moment I called out, God stepped in; He made my life large with strength.

Let us pray together.

Dear God, I pray for You to heal every family experiencing fear, loss, anxiety, stress, or resentment in their homes at the intersection of the vaccinated and the unvaccinated.

God, I know that You are my gentle God, my God who waits until I give up, until I get my hands off what I cannot handle before You move in to do what healing is needed

God, may Your healing reside in the ways You ask me and others to behave or in the way You change my heart. God, as for those with whom I disagree I give them to You to love as You always do.

God, please reconcile and reunify all houses divided, disheartened, or broken at the intersection of choosing whether or not to be vaccinated in the time of Covid. 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 BendingAngel website.

Prayer Never to Forget 9/11 – September 11, 2021

September 12, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

Photo credit: The Reverend Stuart Hubbard Hoke on Facebook

My dear friend, spiritual leader, and Episcopal Priest, Stuart Hubbard Hoke, posted on Facebook yesterday this iconic picture. This is Trinity Church Wall Street, New York City, taken on September 11, 2001, immediately after the collapse of the Twin Towers. Trinity Church stood in the shadows of the Twin Towers. The church long served as a place where Tower workers could seek peace and communion with God in the busyness, stress, and hectic pace of Wall Street.

But on 9/11, as the clouds of death, destruction, and despair rose behind this historic place of worship, Trinity Church became something else. It was transformed into Holy Triage. St. Paul’s Chapel in Trinity Church was a place where many of the wounded were carried. A sacred place where Stuart and others cared for the wounded. As Larry Beck reports, a solemn place in which Brother Douglas Brown, Order of the Holy Cross (now deceased), tended to the wounded and gave Last Rights to the dying.

The vacuum of loss that day and over the last 20 years has been filled with healing and hope from God, with services and memorials to make sure we never forget what we had, what innocence we lost, what peace the departed received in the arms of God and what immeasurable sacrifice was given by First Responders, including the clergy at Trinity Church and leaders of all religious denominations.

God has spoken in Scripture about the purpose and worth of Godly servants.
Matthew 25:23
His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Let us pray together.
Dear God, please give continued comfort and healing to all who have suffered and continue to suffer from the evil launched against America on September 11, 2001.

God, we give thanks to You for the lives of the departed and the services of Your servants on and after 9/11 twenty years ago, including those at Trinity Church Wall Street.

God, may we never forget how America with Your help rose up from the ashes which descended from the Twin Towers that fateful day, that Your goodness always triumphs over evil, and human death is transformed into eternal life. 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.

Prayer to Know What Love Is – August 22, 2021

August 22, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

Click here to listen to Jack’s song, “What Is Love?”

You and I have spent a lifetime learning what love is. It is in you and me. It magnificently shines like tonight’s full moon from the lips, and hugs and the little things children do.

God is love but so are we if we treat others as God commands us to do.

God’s love has given you and me many gifts. These gifts must be given away in order to keep them.

As many of you know in high school I played the keyboard for two popular area bands, The Minutemen, and Beau Geste. Years ago some of you heard the bands at dances you attended, private parties, The Carousel Skating Rink on Old Katy Road, and the Music Hall.

Since the age of seventeen I have been writing songs but never published any of them on social media. In my sleep and in prayer I heard what I believe were the lips of God to create the tune and write the words to my song, What Is Love, recently copyrighted for me by my dear friend and entertainment lawyer, Yocel Alonso.

God has placed in my path two talented artists to be a part of this and other songs to come. One is Stephanie Jones who has the voice of an angel and guitarist, Brian Carrion, to arrange, to play the strings and vocal accompaniment to capture the beauty and meaning of the song. My deepest praise and thanks to Stephanie and Brian.

God has spoken to us in Scripture about receiving and sharing gifts He has given us.
1 Peter 4:10
As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Dear God, in prayer may we discover the gifts You have have given us.

God, may we be thankful for receiving them.

God, please help each of us to use, develop and share those gifts with others to Your glory.

God, as we share our gifts, like Jack’s song, What Is Love, please give them the wings of angels to touch the hearts of others with Your 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 See Holy Coincidence – August 8, 2021

August 10, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

In the midst of the Pandemic last year our family lost one of its treasured members, our beloved Penny. Penny was a Catahoula, the breed which is the State dog of Louisiana. Penny lived a good life and added so much comfort and joy for all of us.

During the Pandemic Penny developed a persistent nose bleed. The Vet gave us the razor sharp news that Penny had inoperable cancer. Medicine stopped the nose bleeds for a time. Then, it came time to let Penny go. To not suffer any more. Out of love we made arrangements for the Vet to come to our house. The grandkids, Ellora, Ellisa, and Tristan, placed Penny outside in the yard in her soft bed. We said our goodbyes and gave Penny our fond farewell hugs. Then, the Vet did what is mercifully done to end a pet’s life when mercy is the only thing left to do.

Last Saturday we were told that there was a five-month-old puppy at the SPCA who needed to be adopted. It was a female like Penny. It was a mixed-breed Catahoula dog like Penny. To top it off, the SPCA had named the puppy Penny. As you can guess we took that puppy home. We miss our first Penny. But, our second Penny has already started filling the void left in our hearts last year. What were the odds that these qualities in our new puppy were pure coincidence?

How many of you have experienced things which happen which are more than random coincidence? Things which seem connected by a Holy thread. Inexplicable happenings which become the fabric of your faith that God’s hand is present in your life? How many times have you felt that God has left you alone and adrift? Then, you are faced with something more than coincidence. You are shaken by something extraordinary on an ordinary day. Awakened that underneath the life you are living there is the Holy. That God has plans for you. For me. And for pets too.

God has spoken to us in Scripture about Holy coincidence.

Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Let us pray together.

Dear God, in prayer please help us to look more closely at the events of each day and to see that Your hand touches us with Your purpose and love.

God, in prayer we thank You for all Holy coincidences which reinforce our faith in You.

God, we are truly grateful that You are always present, whether seen or unseen.

God, in the often mundane, ordinary, or dark times in our lives, it is no coincidence that Your light and love shine on us. 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 Unite and Inform the Vaccinated and Unvaccinated in America – August 2, 2021

August 3, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

In eighth grade at Dean Junior High in English class our teacher had us read an essay on America being a “melting pot”. America’s greatness was defined and determined by the diversity among its people from all over the world. At homeroom every day we said the Pledge of Allegiance to reaffirm that we were One Nation Under God. Yet, beneath those truths then and now how much were we, and are we truly being great in our diversity? How much are we truly united as One Under God?

Every day we see others open up their pocketbooks and their hearts to take care of their brothers and sisters who need food, clothing, and shelter. Many who have been orphaned from hope in America like my muscles were after polio when they were no longer connected to nerves which died with the virus.

We have social media to entertain us and bring us closer to one another. Or, the same technology which isolates us from others. Or, drive us apart with misinformation and falsehoods.

We have Covid-19 and now Delta. Just as we began to see Covid in our rearview mirrors, we face the prospect of Delta wave after wave. We hope masking and social distancing will be enough to prevent crowded ICUs, suffering, and death.

We have Covid vaccines to prevent suffering as I experienced with polio in 1954. I was one of 300,000 polio victims in that year. My parents had no vaccine to spare me of my fate. I can say with absolute certainty, because of the vaccine and the work of Jonas Salk, that hundreds of millions of children around the world will never know the suffering they missed. What I cannot forget and have to live with every day. Thankfully, with Rotary International’s work to eradicate polio, there is only a hand full of cases in the entire world each year.

In 1955 it was everyone’s public duty to get the polio vaccine. To protect themselves and others from harm. All children were inoculated at schools without being faced with strong opposition by doubters. Now, many believe that the Covid vaccines will cause more harm than Covid or Delta.

We are faced with a choice. What is best for America’s public health and the individual’s private right to choose not to get vaccinated? That right includes the parental choice to not have their children vaccinated.

A simple Google search shows a range of opinions from the Moderna’s vaccine being a miracle from God or to being an agent of the Devil. Science and the CDC say that the benefits of the vaccines outweigh the risks. Private posts claim that the vaccines alter human DNA, have a mind-control chip planted in them, or cause sterility in women. The line between truth and fiction is blurred. In all of this how many of us think about how God wants us to deal with getting vaccinated?

So, where is this prayer going? Am I just rambling? Well, God gives each of us the right to choose. To believe or disbelieve. To listen in prayer to God and carefully consider God’s will in making choices.

Many of my dearest friends and family have chosen to get vaccinated just like me. Many of those I love and who love me have chosen not to get vaccinated. Whether vaccinated or not I choose not to judge them. I choose to love. I choose to respect the rights of others to make choices. I choose to believe that we can be more of that One America. To be great in the diversity of our people. To respect the opinions of others which form our present and shape our future. I choose to pray to God and to listen to find calm wisdom. To be informed by God to do the right thing for me, for others, and for you. I believe that if we all listen to God we will do what is best for our Country, our brothers and sisters.

God has spoken in Scripture about finding hope, healing, and direction in such messy times as ours today.

Psalm 32:8
The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.

Jeremiah 3:15
And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.

Let us pray together.

God, in prayer please show us the way to be one and to be great in our diversity as Your people.

God, please help us not judge others for their right to decide whether to be vaccinated from Covid 19.

God, in prayer please inform us of Your will as we decide whether or not to get vaccinated.

Last, whether or not we are vaccinated, please shine Your light on each of us to protect us from infection and harm from Covid-19, the Delta, or any other mutation which comes our way. 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.

Prayer, the Escape Ladder on the Wall of Worry – July 18, 2021

July 18, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

I believe in a perfect, always listening and ever-present God. Yet, God created us as His perfectly imperfect children. One of my imperfections and probably yours too is worry.

What good does worry accomplish for me? For you? What are the benefits of worrying?

The most annoying aspect of worry is that it happens at the most inappropriate and inconvenient times. Like when I am trying to enjoy family time, or watching a movie or when I should be enjoying the moment. When I should be fully present in the now; but I am hijacked to a far off location. A place where my mind thinks way too much but nothing is ever accomplished. The rocking chair rocks faster and faster but goes nowhere.

Even worse is when that worry begins at night. I just lie in bed. Then, a little worry begins and it grows and grows until I am consumed by it. Sleep is no longer possible. The frustrating thing about worry is that in the middle of the night I am completely unable to do anything about what bothers me. I am robbed of sleep. That allows worry to take greater hold of me the next time.

Attorneys like me have a common suffering. It is the night before a trial. Even if one is fully prepared, as sleep should begin the questions pop up. “Am I really ready? What will the judge think of my advocacy? Will the jury care about me, my client or the case? Will my client appreciate how I try the case? Even though I am a collaborative divorce attorney I worry about those I serve and what personal struggles there are navigating. The crescendo of anxiety causes me to climb an insurmountable wall of worry. Boy do I need an escape ladder to get me safely down from that wall.

That escape ladder for me is prayer. Relief from prayer is free and immediate. We may not be able to do something about what we are obsessing on at the time. But God is always listening and God can handle what we cannot. In the light of day. In the darkness at 2:00 am. That escape ladder is not acquired on QVC. It is our lifeline given to us from God. That is why I pray to God every time every day when worry gets the best of me. Prayer is always the answer for me to find the still, quiet place to be with God and others.

What if each of us could just surrender our worries to God? What if our first action to all our worries was to pray to God? What if our worries were surrendered to and borne by God alone? What would that escape ladder mean to you? To me? The result would be that you and I would surely receive the peace from God that passeth all understanding.

God has spoken to us in Scripture about finding God’s peace.

Philippians 4:6-7, 9

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…….. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Let us pray together.

Dear God, in prayer please help us to surrender to You all our worries and the anxieties which cause us distress.

God, please empower us to let go of the things we worry about and let us trust in You to bear what we cannot.

God, thanks for hearing our prayers and granting us thereby Your heavenly peace on Earth so that we can be fully present in our service to You and to our brothers and sisters in Your name, now and forever. Amen

Prayer for Gratitude to Overcome Grief – July 11, 2021

July 15, 2021 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

Whether you are young, middle-aged, or old we all experience grief. We lose something or someone we love. Our loved ones depart. We bury our beloved pets. We are left behind. In that vacuum of loss, we suffer. We grieve. We cry.

Later in life, we see a life-long dream will not happen no matter how hard we work. The once possible becomes impossible. Financial security will not be attained. Physical health will not be restored. Some items on our bucket lists will die before we do.

Expectations of children being financially independent, or taking trips to Europe and far-off lands, or that career goal or big investment paying off become false hopes. That retirement with your spouse which you’ve looked forward to for many years ends with a divorce petition being served on you.

For me when I grieve for what I lost with polio and paralysis, I am sad that I cannot and will not ever run, jump, play golf, dance with Dorothy, play tennis, ride a bike or take a hike. Even now I cannot do what I did in my 30’s like walk a half-mile or ride a stationary bike for three miles.

Yet, what I can do to overcome my grief is to reflect and be grateful for cherished memories and times I have spent with those I love. For example, this iconic photograph of Dorothy and me in 1978 as we stood together smiling on Nob Hill with the San Francisco Bay behind us. On that magical day, I was able to walk the streets of San Francisco and Ghirardelli Square without the assistance of a motorized wheelchair.

At that moment all I needed was my walking cane, Dorothy, and her love for me.

Six years later I was one of 100 000 polio survivors who suffered post-polio syndrome (PPS). With it came the sudden and unexpected weakness in the muscles I had regained after years of rehabilitation from polio. After feeling twice cursed and in deep emotional pain, my thoughts turned to gratitude. Gratefulness for being able to function so well for nearly four decades after polio. That gratitude overcame and overshadowed my grief. With gratefulness, I remained strong, courageous, positive, and happy.

Later, that gratitude enabled me to spend nights in an Iron Lung for five years with PPS and still ably serve as President of both the Gulf Coast Family Law Specialists and the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists-Houston Chapter. At that time, because of that strength and support from God, I never felt the need to share this journey with my colleagues or the judges I appeared before in court for hearings and trials. All because of gratitude, the Glory, and the Grace of God.

God has spoken to us in Scripture about gratefulness.

Psalm 103:2-5
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.

Let us pray together.

Dear God, in prayer, may we be forever grateful for the blessings You have bestowed on us.

God, please open our eyes and hearts to see the experiences and the people who reside in the deep well of gratitude within us.

God, in time, may our gratitude overcome and overshadow our grieving for what once was and the hardships of life and love.

Last, may our gratitude be shared with You in prayers of thanksgiving; for with You in Heaven, ultimately, all our dreams will be fulfilled. 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 BendingAngel.com website.