Prayer request

Self | June 11, 2011 | Aliska

[Aliska]

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Francie who is dear to my heart and many others. She passed away early yesterday morning at my ex-husband's home, and I'm feeling like my prayers failed her. I sent for some water from Kateri's shrine, my daughter took it up to her, and she rubbed some on herself. She was 43 years old, leaves behind five children and had a difficult life, but she probably didn't see it that way. She had an indomitable spirit even through her pain and suffering. She wanted to get well and ride her bike again, but the cancer had spread too far before it was diagnosed.

I mentioned it briefly on this thread. I know we can't know the ways of God.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2729125/posts?page=63#63

[SuzyQue]

Prayers for you, Aliska.

[GonzoII]

Prayers are up!

[lastchance]

May the Lord welcome her into His kingdom.

[Kolokotronis]

O God of spirits and of all flesh, You have trampled upon death and have abolished the power of the devil, giving life to Your world. Give rest to the soul of Your departed servant Francine in a place of light, in a place of repose, in a place of refreshment, where there is no pain, sorrow, and suffering. As a good and loving God, forgive every sin she has committed in thought, word or deed, for there is no one who lives and does not sin. You alone are without sin. Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your word is truth. For You are the resurrection, the life, and the repose of Your departed servant Francine, Christ our God, and to You we give glory, with Your eternal Father and Your all holy, good and life‑giving Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

[Amberdawn]

I will pray for Francie and her 5 children. May she rest in peace.

[Aliska]

Your and others’ words of comfort and beautiful prayers mean more to me than I can say. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

[LonePalm]

Prayers up for Francie and family.

Notre père, qui êtes aux cieux!
Que votre nom soit sanctificié. Que votre règne vienne.
Que votre volonté soit faite, sur la terre comme au ciel.
Donnez-nous aujourd'hui notre poindre ce jour.
Pardonnez-nous nos offenses, comme nous pardonnons aussi a ceux, qui nous ont offensés,
et ne nous soumetez pas à la tentation, mais délivrez-nous du mal.
Car c'est à toi qu'appartiènne, le régne, la puissance et la gloire, pour les siècles des siècles.
Amen.

Je vous salue, Marie, pleine de grâces,
le Seigneur est avec vous, vous êtes bénie entre toutes les femmes,
et Jésus le fruit de vos entrailles est béni.
Sainte Marie, Mère de Dieu, priez pour nous pauvres pécheurs,
maintenant, et à l'heure de notre mort. Ainsi-soit-il.

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[Twinkie]

Prayer offered.

[ransomnote]

The Rose Beyond The Wall

A rose once grew where all could see,
sheltered beside a garden wall,
And as the days passed swiftly by,
it spread its branches, straight and tall...

One day, a beam of light shone through
a crevice that had opened wide
The rose bent gently toward its warmth
then passed beyond to the other side

Now, you who deeply feel its loss,
be comforted - the rose blooms there-
its beauty even greater now, nurtured by
God’s own loving care.
**************************************
May I offer my own humble opinion?
I used to feel that my prayers failed my mother when I was taking care of her as a teenager. I asked on her behalf, many times, that she be healed. I asked to trade places with her. And when she died, I looked back on my imperfect faith and my flaws and flawed prayers and believed I failed her. It took me years to understand that I did not fail her. We ask God to heal but we do not command him - I know I state the obvious but the heart has a hard time with this sometimes.
I realized that God allowed Christ to suffer crucifixion and death but not because he didn’t love Christ or that prayers that Christ be spared were flawed and insufficient. No amount of our prayers that Christ would be spared would have moved God to lift that burden from his Son - for our own sake. None of our prayers will ever be perfect but He listens to each and every one of them attentively, with tenderness and complete love - God knows our limits and frailties and shows us mercy despite these weaknesses. I am deeply sorry for your loss and, to my own faith, I believe she is present with the Lord. You did not, could not, fail her. Prayers up!

[Bean Counter]

I’m very sorry for our loss, and I’ll keep her in all of my prayers and meditations.

So many Freepers gone...

[Joe Boucher]

Aliska,
Your prayers have not failed her.
Our Lord hears all prayers.
Sometimes he has other plans, sometimes he does things we find dificult to understand or see.
Keep strong in your faith and GOD bless.

[mlizzy]

So.much.suffering. (I read your linked commentary.) And Francie (such a beautiful woman), although not cured as you had hoped and prayed for, might already be riding her bike (even tooting the horn!), thankful for all that you've done.

I join the FReepers in prayer.

[mimaw]

Prayers for Francie

[azishot]

I am so sorry for your loss. I will remember her in my prayers.

[LadyDoc]

in our prayer

[TASMANIANRED]

Prayers lifted.

[Aliska]

Thank each and every one of you for your beautiful thoughts and prayers. Such comforting thoughts, and saved several of them. I like the Lord's prayer in French, fitting because she was of French ancestry, also the Rose Behind the Wall, one I think is Eastern, and the comforting words to me that I didn't fail, all of them; every prayer matters, and reminders about Our Lord's suffering and His prayers. Thank you for reminding me; he asked to let the cup pass but accepted His Father's will so that as many as possible might be saved through his sacrifice.

I'm sure we've all had what we thought were failures in our spiritual lives. This wasn't the first time, the kind when you storm heaven and hope for a different outcome, even though I concluded with "Thy will be done." It won't stop me from praying. I know better now to try to make bargains with God (did in the past) and to ask for a sign. So the best I can do is leave it in God's loving hands; often he uses sorrows to bring about a greater good, and hearts heal as time passes.

Hope I didn't miss anybody, and blessings to all!

[RedMDer]

You will see Francie again. She is in our Lord’s Loving Hands.

[Aliska]

Oh I hope you are right. I'm so thankful I got to see her one more time up at the hospital. She had left here in late 1982 and came back to see me with her husband and children twice. One little girl sat in my lap and drew pictures which I kept on my fridge for a long time, like I do my kid art. She left in 1982 after a fiasco, and the social workers sent her back to her father, but doesn't hold it against me nor I her; all three of them got into a big scrape. That seems like such a long time ago now.

When she was with us for the nine months, I did a lot of cooking (and chasing kids down), but one night I came home from work, and she had made some wonderful chicken and dumplings. Luckily I had the ingredients on hand; the dumplings were really homemade noodles cut in squares. She said her Aunt Jane had taught her. They were delicious; that's one sweet memory out of many.

Her older sister was sweet, too, suffers from schizophrenia, is divorced and lost her three children because of it. I only saw her once since she left here before 1982, in 1989 when my daughter was nearly killed in an accident; she came and looked so nice then, and it later all fell apart for her, just makes me sad to think of it. They deserved better but can't help the hand they were dealt. There's a whole lot more, but I can't say too much here.

[Miss Behave]

Prayers Homeward.