The Pray and Play

I wrote the below reflection in response to a sermon at my church last week about how Christians are called to profound and meaningful fellowship with each other. The sermon was based on Hebrews 10:24-25,

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

The Pray and Play

It was Carolyn’s idea.

No wait, she would never agree with that. Carolyn would be the first to say it was the Holy Spirit’s idea. But, as a willing vessel of the Holy Spirit, Carolyn invited Jane and me into her home for prayer starting one and a half years ago. We live close enough together that we could walk to each other’s houses. Jane would probably be the first to point that out. One of her gifts is seeing the big picture of God’s provision in our lives, how He meets our needs again and again, even needs we didn’t know we had, like the need for a close-knit, close-by circle of praying friends.

We aren’t an official church group. We are just three women who worship at the same church on Sundays and pray at each other’s homes on Fridays. At the beginning, we were three-fifths devoted to praying and two-fifths devoted to playing. That’s because two of the five people meeting each week were preschoolers. The background music of our prayer was the chatter and laughter of two little girls. So we named our gathering The Pray and Play. Sometimes the Players would creep into the room where the Prayers were praying. They called it spying, but we called it a joy that our daughters could spy us in prayer. We want to raise children who see prayer and friendship and prayerful friendship as integral to life. And how beautiful that two generations of female friendships could meet under one roof to enjoy closeness with each other and with God.

Praying together gives our friendship extraordinary intimacy and authenticity. We share our raw emotions and inner battles. What a blessing to come before God together; to be held accountable, encouraged, and upheld; to share our burdens and our joys. What a privilege to be a prayer guardian of each other’s children and husbands, siblings and parents, of our church and the people of our church whose names God puts on our hearts. What a blessing to see evidence of God’s care unfolding over the days and months and years in each other’s lives. By checking in each week, we see the delightful ways God answers our prayers, and we rejoice to have been witnesses of His mighty works and constant care.

Many times these prayer friends have been used by God in my life – their arms were God’s arms when I needed a hug and their words were God’s words, often straight off the pages of the Bible, when I needed guidance or comfort. This was most evident during my experience this past year with cancer. By God’s grace, the surgeon’s phone call with the biopsy results came on a Friday afternoon at 1pm, just as we were about to pray. God’s timing is perfect. His beautiful servants provided the arms to hug me and then prostrated themselves before Him to plead on my behalf.

Jane sat beside me during my chemotherapy infusion. If you know Jane, you know that the very air around her is infused with a sense of peace. What better person to have at my side as the needles delivered cancer-killing toxins to my veins? Carolyn organized meals and childcare after my surgeries and during chemotherapy. She is one of those lovely people who never draws attention to herself as she performs quiet acts of kindness. I am blessed to be the recipient of their friendship and kindness! I am reminded of how much more God does for us.

I always leave our weekly prayer time with feelings of peace and strength that last for hours. If only I could discipline my flighty heart to such focused prayer each day! If only I could share this blessing with my Christian brothers and sisters. And that is why I wrote this. This prayer group is one of many ways to fulfill God’s call to radical and profound Christian fellowship. I pray that my fellow Christians will have the courage to invite others into their lives in this manner and that those they invite will have the courage to say yes.

Going Public

I haven't posted for weeks. I've been laying low, still in shock that I had the courage to "go public" with my fight against breast cancer and the spiritual/emotional journey it has been.

Here are the two ways I told my story publicly:

1. I wrote an article for Intervarsity's website The Well, a resource for women in graduate studies or professional careers. It was an honor to write this article, available at here. It was also a huge leap of faith to write for a public forum about my medical and spiritual struggles. It was especially public in my little world, because I shared the link on Facebook with many acquaintances who were not aware that I had cancer and with whom I have not shared deeply about my faith.

The best part about writing that article was not what I expected: the thrill of completing an assignment or being published. Rather, it was the moving responses I received by email. The article proved to be:

• an opportunity to address faith questions with one friend
• a journey shared with other Christian women dealing with their own anxieties
• a "call to faith", as one acquaintance wrote
• a chance to reconnect with people from my past on a deeper level

It was hard to air my vulnerabilities, but I was blessed by the experience!

Any Christian knows that God uses our vulnerabilities to draw us closer to Him. It's a lesson straight out of Christian Living 101. No one gets through life without a thorn in the flesh of some sort, conditions beyond our control such as medical problems, disability, emotional challenges, abuse, or poverty. When Paul pleaded with God to remove his unnamed thorn, God answered "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9). Our thorns remind us that we humans rely completely on our loving Heavenly Father every breath of the day, every step of the way.

But here I learned a equally beautiful lesson that builds on the first. We'll call in Christian Living 201. When I make myself vulnerable, God can use me to bless others and build my relationships with them. Airing my struggles publicly connected me to others in ways I could not have foreseen. How humbling to learn that my experience spoke to theirs.

2. That was the heavy-weight stuff; now for the light-weight story of sharing my experience publicly. I took part in a clinical trial for a post surgical product and was asked to submit a testimonial about my experience with the product. The company's photographer took my picture and *presto* I'm a spokesmodel. 
:)
They might use my photo, first name, age, and words in advertising material. Here's one of the photos: