A Pattern of Prayer

This is my fourth week at Shepherds. We've seen some exciting things this week.

Our Shepherds College blog had an all-time high amount of hits on Monday. The college sent out their e-newsletter which included a link to our blog, and within 45 minutes, we had over 100 hits on our blog. It was pretty incredible and very exciting.

My tour on Monday went just fine. Thank you for praying. On Tuesday, a couple from Georgia showed up on our doorstep. They had just heard about Shepherds College the day before, and they decided to visit. Their granddaughter has Down Syndrome, and they were so excited to learn about a college possibility for her.

Well, it being at the end of the day and all, several of the staff had already left, so I was asked to give the tour. I really enjoyed it. It was so exciting to see the hope and dreams in this couple's eyes. You could tell that they just wanted to give their granddaughter some normalcy and independence in her life. It was truly a unique and treasured moment.

For those of you who have been reading my blog, you know that earlier I told you I would be working on my prayer life this summer. I chose this as my challenge to coincide with what our Bible study group was learning.

I still need your prayers, of course. I've had some highs and lows. There are days when I really spend quality, fulfilling time in prayer with God, and other days when I fill my time with other things and fail miserably. But I'm growing, and I want to continue down that path.

There is a specific lady at Shepherds that is encouraging me in my prayer life. Her name is Kathy, and she is a resident. Kathy is very difficult to understand, but she loves to talk to people. She's always smiling and laughing.

When I worked on the night shift last Thursday, Kathy was one of the residents that we had to wake up during the night rounds for her designated bathroom time. Joanna, the lady I was working with, explained that Kathy has to be woke up multiple times during the night, and every time she wakes up, she asks the night staff to pray with her before she goes to sleep again.

As I watched Joanna help Kathy back to bed, Kathy saw me standing in the hallway. She asked who I was, then immediately said, "She's my friend." Kathy motioned to me and asked me to pray with her before she went back to sleep. It was the most precious thing.

I saw Kathy again yesterday when I was taking the couple on their tour. She wanted to say "hi" to the visitors and shake their hands, so we stopped next to her walker and chatted for a bit. Before we left, she asked the couple to pray with her. I was amazed at her testimony.

I don't know if this couple was saved or not, but that didn't matter to Kathy. She wanted the couple to talk to her and her God.

Kathy's first reaction is to pray. Why is that not my first reaction?

One of my friends here just posted a quote on her facebook page. The quote was by Corrie Ten Boom, and it said, "Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" So convicting, right? I can be such a "spare tire" person. I wait 'til life gets bumpy before I turn to God in prayer. Why is that? Sin nature, I guess, and the desire to do everything on your own, but it's frustrating to me. I feel like I'm so slow to change.

So, if you're a "spare tire" person too, join me and let's work to become "steering wheel" people. People like Kathy.