Comfort and Prayer

We all have those friends that we call when we are down. They are the people you can call, cry and pour your heart out to.
 
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And no matter what, her response is always the same, “it’s ok. I am going to pray for you.”
 
Typically she says some other insightful, and calming stuff too, but I don’t always hear it.
 
Mostly because the moment she tells me she is going to pray for me I swear, I start feeling better.

I’m not always the most religious person, but when someone tells me they’re going to talk to God on my behalf, I immediately begin feeling better. 

It’s amazing what can bring you comfort.
 
Last summer my mom and I were waiting for a table at a local restaurant. This particular restaurant is surrounded by cute little shoppes and my mom likes to browse. While we were waiting we stumbled upon a shop with silver necklaces and arrowheads. In a small corner, the shopkeeper had a pile of beads. I’m not so into arrowheads, so I immediately gravitated toward the beads.
 
The shopkeeper explained that the beads didn’t really match the rest of the items in his store, but he was carrying them because his sister insisted.
 
The beads were prayer beads and were hand dyed by people at a Temple.
 
Although the shopkeeper wasn’t very excited about the beads, he offhandedly said he was suggesting to shoppers that they “purchase the beads and give them to someone else in need.” My mom was so touched by this concept that she purchased all of the prayer necklaces in the store and started giving them out to people.
 
Someone would tell her they were hurting…mom gave them a necklace.
 
Someone mentioned a struggle…mom’d give them a kind word and a necklace.
 
She began keeping them in the door of her car and giving them out.
 
When my cousin’s husband was diagnosed with cancer, my mom and her prayer beads were there.

When my friend’s little boy became sick, there was mom and those beads.
 
Everyone who received her beads commented on how much comfort those beads brought them.

 
And while the beads of had no healing power, they had a very different magic: the power of comfort.

Whereas I can always count on Julie to say the right thing and talk to God my behalf, or my mom to share something tangible to represent the metaphysical, my friend Jasmine relies on the power of words.

Whenever I am down or struggling, I can always count on Jasmine to send me a book, a card or a motivational text. 

Jasmine is the queen of the kind word.

I can always count on Jasmine to say the right thing or send a kind word my way. Her words are powerful, and she always knows what I need to read to regroup.

The people in my life who lift me up, sustain me in different ways. From prayer to charms and talismans to sharing just the right words when I need to hear them, their love lifts me higher. 

It feels wonderful to know that no matter what happens to me, I am always in the thoughts and prayers of a friend. 

Nothing gives me more strength.

As you plow through your week, and manage both the highs and lows, I hope you’ll consider doing two things: first, reach out to a friend and check in on them. You never know how someone is doing until you ask them. 

And second, thank someone who lifted you up last week. Nurturing other people isn’t easy and simple expressions of appreciation and gratitude go a long way in comforting those who comfort us! 

❤

Be well this week.