Praying for Grace to Receive

God, today I pray that you bless Ashley with the realization that we want to help her, cook and clean for her, etc., etc., etc.... because we are able and because we love her--and that she will never owe anything nor be able to do anything that somehow makes it even. I know none of us deserve the blessings we enjoy. Every time I go to Peru and see young women walking with their children late at night, waiting for over-full buses, working for pennies an hour, and smiling at me, I feel that the universe messed up. I question your love and justice. I know I don't deserve a home in Chapel Hill, wonderful friends, health, beautiful children... the list is endless. But accepting these blessings with grace and being willing to use them and use my time and energy to bless others is a start in making the universe seem a little less unfair. I can also feel your joy when I do it. God, help me, as I try to bless others, to also stop, breath deeply and enjoy the beauty that surrounds me and the undeserved acts of love offered to me. Help Ashley to enjoy the beauty that surrounds her and to accept with joy the undeserved acts of love offered to her. Bless her with improved health today and each day this week. Amen.

A WALK IN THE WOODS

A couple of nights ago, I had a beautiful dream. I was on a walk in the woods on an autumn morning. The trees were all turning. And I was walking with Ash. You looked radiant. You were wearing beige linen pants and a soft wine colored top. And you were holding up the branches so they wouldn't hit me in the face. You were showing me the way. As you have done so many times before. I woke up serene and happy.

Meal calendar update:

Hi again everyone,
I wanted to update the meal info again. I spoke with Ashley yesterday and she, Al and Sunny appreciate all the meals. Ashley said, "People have brought delicious food that we have all enjoyed immensely".

The three meals a week plan is working well. Two vegan meals and one non-vegan. For the non-vegan meals, I just found out that Sunny doesn't eat beef or pork. Also, would it be possible for folks delivering a meal to also deliver a bag of uncooked cruciferous vegetables to Ashley? Her nutritionist recommends several servings daily of cruciferous vegetables, with a lot of variety. Yesterday during her two hours of receiving intravenous vitamin C, she sat and prepared broccoli and kale for later in the day. If folks take a bag of uncooked vegetables, Ashley would enjoy preparing them.
These are cruciferous vegetables: kale, collard greens, chinese broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, kohlrabi, broccoli, broccoflower, broccoli romanesco, cauliflower, wild broccoli, bok choy, mizuna, Rapini (broccoli rabe), flowering cabbage, chinese cabbage, napa cabbage, turnip root, greens, rutabaga, siberian kale, mustard greens, radish, daikon, horseradish, Real wasabi (not horseradish), arugula, watercress, garden cress, komatsuna. Please e-mail me if you have any questions. trcarter@med.unc.edu

Thanks,
Tanya

May Ashley be full of life, love, hope and peace. May she be free from pain and suffering. May Al be full of life, love, hope and peace. May he be free from pain and suffering. May Sunny be full of life, love, hope and peace. May she be free from pain and suffering. May Ashley and Al's families be full of life, love, hope and peace. May they be free from pain and suffering. May Ashley, Al and Sunny's friends be full of life, love, hope and peace. May they be free from pain and suffering. May they know when and how to be helpful to Ashley. May Ashley rest peacefully tonight. Give Ashley and Al strength for tomorrow. Amen

Thank you, Mayi

Mayi, This morning I saw some new red slippers sitting in the living room. I tried them and they felt good! (Not a common thing for my nerve-damaged feet.) I just asked Sunny where these slippers came from? She said, "Mayi." Thank you, my friend.
Ashley

Strength and Peace

Eternal Spirit, grant Ashley strength and peace.

—Strength to face the treatment plan she has chosen. Peace to live in the presence of uncertainty.

—Strength to be the wonderful mother that she has always been for her daughter. Peace in the knowledge that her daughter loves her and is strong enough to face her illness.

—Strength to listen with grace to the sometimes unhelpful, floundering words of her friends. Peace in knowing those words, though weak and ill-conceived, draw from a deep well of concern and hope.

—Strength to sustain her through pain and worry. Peace to sustain her through pain and worry.

Give Ashley these things, and give us the will to be the mediators of the gift.

Tenacity and Resolve

Tenacity, strength. We pray for these for Ashley. As her aching body begs for rest, let her resolve not weaken. God, I take comfort in the story of the mustard seed. In the gospels, Jesus tells his disciples that faith the size of a mustard seed is enough. I know Jesus himself must have doubted often. Could he really defy the powers of oppression? Could he keep going when everyone doubted? Would his sandals last all the way to Jerusalem? I'm sure that sometimes he felt too weak and too small to keep going. When he talked about faith the size of a mustard seed, he probably knew from experience.

Give Ashley the assurance that your love and our combined and growing faith is enough. Help her draw strength and resolve from those around her who are pouring their love into her healing.

Thank you, God, that when we find the courage to think deeply of Ashley's healing, we find you there, giving us strength and new resolve. Then we know that praying and thinking with and for Ash is sustaining us and her. We pray for more courage to ask, to pray, with even a little bit of faith--the size of a mustard seed.