Last night my husband came home in a horrible mood. There wasn't anything I could do to help him. He has been working on some "trouble" cars. One of his cars came back and the customer was very angry with him. This customer spent 45 minutes telling him this, in a not-so-nice manner. All I could say was I know how difficult it is to be faced with a mistake. It happen to the best of us. But when I watched Ryan walk through the door, I saw how this "beat him up." I wanted to just "make it better."
I asked if there was something particular I could fix for dinner that may cheer him up. No. I asked if there was something I could do to get his mind off of it. No. So I just fixed what I was planning for dinner. Then I told him about some particulars of my day.
After dinner he asked me to cut his hair, maybe that would help. So I told him to hop in the shower and I would get everything ready. When he got out, he was a different person. Somehow, while standing under the waves of hot water, he was able to wash away the "yuck" of the day and found a moment of inspiration. A different car that he has been working on for more than two months has created a number of odd and strange problems to fix. He had a light bulb moment and thought of a solution to this on-going problem-car. He had no way of proving it but was certain that was the next step.
As I talked with him about this, I asked how he got there. He told me a story about a car years ago that ended in this solution. Somehow this conversation led to prayer. He said he was praying that God would lead him to the solution on this car. I said this was definitely something we could pray about together. He said he had a difficult time praying for himself.
I thought this odd in some ways, but also wonderful. I have heard many people talk about prayer as a laundry list of things they want God to fix in their lives. Rarely do you hear someone say they do not pray for themselves. I encouraged him to continue praying as he did, but to remember prayer is our conversations with God. If I stopped talking to Ryan about what was going on in my life, we wouldn't be in relationship. One that same note, if I only ever talk about myself, we're not in relationship then either.
Ryan started describing how he prays and it was a sober reminder for me. He told me he prays for a man at work with whom he does not get along and who is not good at his job, costing the company great sums. He said he prays that God will help this man provide for his family just has God has help Ryan provide for ours. He prays that God will protect this man from injury and harm. He said that's how he starts every morning.
I stood there jaw dropped. I was a sober reminder that I have had all too often recently. I needed to be reminded to pray for those in my life that I may not like or with whom I struggle. I needed to remember to pray for the people who have harmed me or my family. Though every morning I begin my morning in prayer for others, it is for Ryan and the kids, for my dad and Diane, for my brother, Kelsey and Aiden, for my in-laws and sister-in-laws and for my friends and their families...all my loved ones.
This morning, I prayed for the people who have wronged and harmed my family. I prayed for people I do not like. This morning, I remembered to pray for more than just my loved ones. Sometimes I hate it when my husband stands as a leader of my family and reminds me to do things that don't "feel good." But in the end, I am now reminded to pray in the way that God calls me. For that, I am truly grateful to have a Godly man as the leader of my home. And now I also pray that Ryan always remembers to pray for others as he does now.
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