Would You Pray for Addy?

Today, I simply want to ask you to pray for my sister, Hannah, and her daughter, Addy. If you’ve read here at all, you know a little bit about Addy’s journey. With all of her difficulties, she is one of the happiest, funniest kids I have ever met and is often the life of our family parties because her humor is hysterical.

Some history for those of you who don’t know:

If you don’t know Addy, her story is here: CaringBridge 

I’ve praised my sister’s faith during trials by sharing a bit of her story here.

I’ve told you what every parent needs to know before seeking medical attention if you have a special needs child, and about how Children’s Hospital in Boston failed Addy because of Code Slow.

“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”

I’m just telling you that my mom-heart is praying for a successful surgery and that Addy will walk again.

Somehow, when I pray the fragile words, “on earth as it is in heaven” I’m forcing myself to see the connection between the two places that I miss when life is trial free.

Trials give us eyes to see life as it really is: fragile, dear, precious, connected to eternity. Like dew sparkling on a singular spider web, we catch a glimpse of the connection between heaven and earth when we acknowledge that God envelopes both, controls both, and oversees both. And we’re not so scared to pray “Thy will be done.”

A word about praying that comforts me: I can pray in Jesus name.

If you’ve grown up in a Christian home and have prayed this way since infancy, this may seem like ho-hum news. We don’t always realize that it’s a privilege to use His name because we’ve never known anything else and were never taught the significance. “In Jesus name” can become like the closer–like a “sincerely yours” scribbled mindlessly on the end of a letter.

It’s honestly a privilege and a trust given to believers and this is how I like to think about it:

When I was a child, I was proud of the fact that my father was not only a good and godly man but an expert in his field, one of the areas most knowledgeable cranberry growers. As his daughter, I learned from observation that people knew him and respected him, so when he gave me his “permission” to use his name, as in “Go tell them to fill the car up with gas and just charge it to Larry Harju,” I had no qualms about ever having any problems. As his daughter, I was entitled to the respect he had earned in many areas. He trusted me and gifted me permission to use his name (or credit card!).

Praying in Jesus name assumes sonship and alignment with His heart and will. Jesus is entrusting you to ask on His behalf, like saying “You and I are one in purpose. You ask the Father.”

I often think about that when I do things, {i.e. pray, minister, work} in “Jesus” name. It’s an awesome gift that’s entrusted to us and one that we cannot, in good conscience, abuse.

I am praying that God’s will would be done. I trust that God has all of our best interests in mind.

Would you pray for Addy as well? And ask your churches to pray?

Thanks so much, friends.