Hazel Rolston: January 2009 Archives

A wee idea

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ideas cartoon

One good thing about having flu is that you have time to think, (though I guess the down side is that you don't feel like thinking too hard due to feeling unwell and due to the lure of day-time t.v and the chaos caused by a plethora of tissues and empty mugs!) However this afternoon I have fought my way through these distractions, whilst convalescing from a nasty cold, to share a wee idea that I think God may have put on my heart: I am wondering if it would be a good idea to start prayer surgeries and would LOVE it if you would give me your comments.

The basic idea is that different groups/ churches would each run one prayer surgery every week, but together they would offer widespread prayer coverage for a locality. So for example if my Church offered a Wednesday morning prayer surgery maybe another church would run one on a Friday, another on Monday etc. Ideally slots for prayer could be booked on-line as well as drop-in slots. I would love to see prayer surgeries which would offer intercessions in many different languages and maybe possibly for different groups of people? (e.g you could a youth surgery or healing surgery where people are anointed with oil). Some surgeries could offer a creche so that mums could attend and basically regular prayer would be open to all. What do you think, do you think this would work or is there a need? 

It appeals to me because I really struggled to get regular prayer support when I had post-natal depression and I often felt desperate to meet, pray and cry with someone whilst I presented my requests to God and since the recent death of my friend I wonder is there a need for a more structured service for desperate Christians? (As my experience has taught me that rarely does desperation give advance notice therefore it can be hard to get prayer when we really need it.) Why not let us plan to 'be there' for those who are struggling to persevere, which would only be possible if we agree as Christians to work together!

However maybe this or something similar is already happening in your area? I am just trying to test if this is from God or if it is my own creation, thus I would be very grateful for your help as I sift this wee idea.




The dirty dishes and cleaning can wait, I am going to blog to-day if it is the only thing I do. (Just hoping that some of my tidy friends don't 'pop in' in the meantime!)

If you have checked my website for an entry in the last couple of months - I do apologise for my extended break, but it has been a tough couple of months and blogging just seemed out of my reach!

I always struggle with the logistics of Christmas, let's just say organisation skills have never been my strong point. However throw in a house move and I am well and truly challenged! Yet undoubtedly the most difficult thing for me in the last couple of months has been the suicide of a dear friend.

It has been difficult on so many levels: Primarily I miss her, as we shared a heartfelt resonance with each other  and I feel so sad that she felt this was the only course of action left for her. I saw her 2 days before her death and we discussed her struggle and thus I am left with the inevitable question ... "could I have done more?" 

However I have been helped by a book called Grieving a Suicide by Al Hsu published by IVP which discusses the various stages survivors of suicide can go through and deals with many questions which may arise in its wake.

So it has been a time where I have had to deal with one thing at a time and allow some things to be set aside. 

However if anything loosing my dear friend has not deterred me but merely strengthened my resolve to try to bring God's light into dark places. I know that despair is a formidable enemy but I believe it is possible to escape it's grip, however it does need to be taken seriously so if you or someone you know are feeling suicidal then please DO tell someone and seek immediate medical help. 
 
Finally I believe there are more things that we can do as a Christian community to help those facing despair's allure so keep an eye on this page and I will tell you about those very soon!

About this Archive

This page is a archive of recent entries written by Hazel Rolston in January 2009.

Hazel Rolston: November 2008 is the previous archive.

Hazel Rolston: March 2009 is the next archive.