This is a power that seems to
come only to those who acknowledge that they are, in the words
of the psalmist, “sheep of God’s pasture.” They
have no illusion that they can work miracles, bring about new
life, for themselves or their family; but they know that God can!
As I travel about Guatemala, I watch as women enter a sanctuary
and before greeting others, before any other activity, they walk
to the front of the sanctuary and kneel in prayer.
I listen over and over to the refrain, “pray for my husband,
my son, my neighbor, my daughter, only God can help us.”
I hold the hand of a wife whose husband (a pastor) had died two
days before in a car accident; she lies in a hospital bed and
smiles in response to my words, “may God give you strength.”
She squeezes my hand to assure me that she firmly believes that
God will do just that.
I share life with women from many different cultures, a variety
of economic and social backgrounds, and many different levels
of education; all bound together as mothers, wives, bearers of
the faith, people of prayer and deep faith. I am blessed to share
life with these women of faith, my “cloud of witnesses,”
whose testimony to the power and presence of God in these lives
is a daily witness to me.
Ellen H. Dozier
The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, page
244. |
