Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Their mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, they seek to provide an opportunity for people of God to join together, learn about children and their needs throughout the world, and celebrate Christ's love (especially as it relates to children).
Invitation to Prayer ... Tomorrow
Hi Friends,
We will be meeting this Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., in the gym conference room at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. I hope you can join us to pray together for children in our community and around the world!
REMINDER: We have moved our meeting time back to 11:30! Hope that enables some of you to rejoin us!
Warmly,
Carrie
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| MSP Metro Detroit Photo |
Somewhere in the darkness of that bridge stood a man. We can't see him in the picture. But isn't that so often the case? Sometimes we don't notice the desperate ones until it's too late.
But he's there nonetheless. His knuckles white against the concrete barrier and his toes pushing little pebbles over the edge. As the cars rushed by below, I imagine he watches the pebbles shower their windshields. Did he wonder if anyone even noticed?
Frenetic. Frantic. Fast lane life. Moving so quickly we barely notice when the rain is replaced with the softest showering of rock. Something's out of place. Someone's out of place. But if we keep moving, we miss it.
He stands on that bridge and believes himself to be alone. Cigna just announced 48 percent of us feel lonely. The loneliest among us? The youngest in the survey group... Generation Z. 18 to 22 year olds. They didn't survey children, but it's enough to make one wonder where we're headed. Each generation lonelier than the last. Generation X, Y, Z... stepping further and further down into disconnection and social isolation. What comes next? There's not even a letter of the alphabet left to name them. Emptiness. Blackness. Loneliness.
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| USA Today Photo |
But this time, someone sees. They look up. They look out. They notice! With the police called and the freeway closed, the coaxing begins. You aren't alone. In the four hours it took to get him to step back, undoubtedly the police said it in a hundred different ways a hundred times. But shining light in the darkness can be slow work and we all know our words don't matter as much as our actions.
And how do you really tell someone they are never alone? You say "I'll catch you if you jump."
Thirteen trucks stopped. They all had somewhere to be by dawn, but they stopped their frenetic, frantic activity. They came out of the darkness, circled up and literally created a safety net out of the only thing they had to offer: their livelihood, their energy, their time. They said - not just with words, but in deed - I see you. You aren't alone.
And isn't this what we all need? Even if we aren't on the edge of an actual bridge, we don't need someone to tell us how we "should" feel. We don't usually rationalize our way back from the edge. We need to know someone's going to catch us even if we jump. When one of us is in a dark place, swallowed up by a thick inky blackness that's slowly smothering the very spark of life burning in our heart, we can only back away from the edge and come up for air when we know, deep down in our bones, no matter what we are wanted and valued... we are precious in His sight.
The picture of those trucks lined up under the freeway is a picture of God's kingdom to me. Your kingdom come, your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.
No one interviewed this guy on the bridge and asked for his resume before they stopped what they were doing and lined up their trucks. No one asked what accomplishments he had achieved or whether or not he still called his grandma on Sunday afternoons. No one asked if he'd ever been to prison, held a steady job, or paid his bills on time. They didn't ask because, truth be told, deep down we know none of this matters. No matter what, his life has value.
And that "no matter whatness" comes straight from the heart of God. Father Greg Boyle says it best, I think, in his book
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"The 'no matter whatness' of God dissolves the toxicity of shame and fills us with tender mercy. Favorable, finally, and called by name - by the one your mom uses when she's not pissed off."
No matter what, you aren't alone.
No matter what, you are loved.
No matter what, your name is written on the palm of his hands. (Isaiah 49:16)
And there's not one among us not worth a safety net made of semi-trucks.
This week, as we pray for the lonely and desperate and suicidal among us and seek ways to be present in the lives of those who need to know they are loved, may we also pray for the following matters:
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| Chicago Tribune Photo by E. Jason Wambsgans |
So often we hear only of mass-shootings and forget the daily assault of violence so many people find themselves chronically living in the midst of. Let's remember in prayer those children growing up in war zones, gang neighborhoods, and impoverished communities.
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| Reuters Photo by Edgard Garrido |
"Eight women and children from a caravan of hundreds of Central American migrants have sought asylum in the United States after officials allowed them entry from Mexico, fueling hope among their companions who remain camped outside the border crossing. Gathering people along the way, the caravan set off a month ago on a 2,000 mile trek across Mexico to the U.S. border, drawing attention from the U.S. media after President Donald Trump took to Twitter to demand such groups not be granted entry and urging for stronger immigration laws. His administration's hands are tied, however, by international rules obliging the United States to accept asylum applications. Most in the caravan said they were fleeing death threats, extortion and violence from powerful street gangs. Dozens of members of the caravan slept in the open for a second cold desert night in the surroundings of the busy San Ysidro port of entry, after pumping fists and cheering the news late on Monday that Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) had opened the gate to eight women and children."
As our country continues to grapple with questions of immigration and how to properly manage the people it brings to our borders, please pray for wisdom, compassion, just policies and good discernment for all involved. And for the children sleeping alongside our borders, please pray for protection and the opportunity to have a bright future, wherever that may be.
Praying with you,
Carrie
Carrie J. McKean
Faces of Children Director
First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas
(432) 684-7821 x153
If you have prayer requests about children, those who care for them, those who have authority over them, or those who harm them (the really hard prayers to say sometimes), please send them to info@facesofchildren.net
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