Dear Mom,

Thank you for such a lovely letter. We are already  'best friends' in that we are certainly sisters in Christ. We are bound together as sisters, friends, and companions through our shared love of Jesus. We have been gifted with this relationship through the great generosity of the Lord. Jesus knew from all eternity that humans would need the companionship of one another in order to faithfully and with peace travel the path to Heaven. Through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit the Lord works to weave us together for the expressed purpose of knitting us into a blanket of hope and encouragement that is wrapped around the whole. Though I may not know a particular mom and her struggle for a certain day I am praying for her through my offering of prayers in the morning and throughout the day with my prayers for her. In the same turn when I am having a challenge that brings me sorrow or frustration I work through the challenge with the knowledge that I am not alone and that I know someone is praying for me. It is always amazing how I can feel so defeated in one moment and near despair and then suddenly the clouds lift and I find a strength to continue with the work at hand. Certainly this is the Lord's empowerment through His Holy Spirit. God is using all the prayers from moms for moms. The tools of the Lord are our prayers.

Please keep praying for me, as I will continue praying for you. The view is breathtaking from the other side of sorrow. The view of the steadfast and joy-filled reunion of ourselves with the Spirit is beyond words to describe. Imagine life as a path. There are brambles to be sure but we can with one another's prayers and devotion to prayer not only stay on the path but we can work through the brambles. Jesus has created each person for His own. We are His and nothing can change that fact.

I love to go to the library and 'poke around' looking for books that I think will be interesting for their content. One of my finds was entitled 'Pioneer Women' by Joanna L. Stratton. I have read books about Rebeccah Boone that are really fascinating. Spend an afternoon searching and exploring different books about these women of faith. Reading about their day to day challenges is powerful, especially when you read about their struggles with childbearing and childrearing. Discipline issues of our present time seem to have replaced the issues of survival that women of young children suffered long ago.

Keep praying, keep working, and keep asking for God's strength. He always gives us His strength to move forward. If Jesus knocked on your door and was holding a package and said to you 'Dearest daughter, Please take care of this parcel for Me. I know that you can do this for Me and I am asking you to help Me now. I will not abandon you as you work through the challenges this parcel will present but will be always there with you as you care for it.' I do not think any one of us could say 'no'.  Of course the parcel represents our lives, our children, our futures, and our very being. The challenges we face in parenting do not define us as parents but how we handle them will.

You are in my daily prayers. Thank you for your powerful witness of loving docility. Your witness has uplifted me and given me encouragement.

Sending out a prayer,

Rita Munn