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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Praying for Parents in Oklahoma

As I was putting Elizabeth to bed tonight, I began to say her prayers with her just like we do every night. We started by thanking God for the rain, and that Elizabeth had had a good day today. Then we thanked God for Mom and Dad's good days, and asked God to help Elizabeth sleep well tonight - to keep her teeth from bothering her, and to help her ears be healthy.

And then we added an extra line that doesn't usually go in our bedtime prayer (yes, the ears make it in every night) - we asked God to be with the parents in Moore who had lost their children yesterday - and that's as far as I got. As hard as I tried, I couldn't think of how specifically to pray for them. I don't know what they need right now, other than God's presence. I can't imagine going through what they are going through today. I don't know what I'd do if it were Elizabeth who had been killed in the tornado yesterday, or what I would expect God to do.

So we left it at that - "God, be with the parents in Moore tonight, and ... I don't know what else to say, but just be with them." And I felt tears come into my eyes as I said that, and gave Elizabeth an extra kiss on the forehead before I laid her down in her crib.