All Things Through Christ

Two years ago, the thought of needing two new knees was, to put it mildly, a daunting prospect.  Really?  Do I have to go through this?  Isn't it just a bit of niggly arthritis?  Is there not a simpler solution?  All these and more were the questions I levelled at the surgeon.  His answer, when it came, was emphatic: you need two new artificial knees.

Little did I know then what was to lie ahead.  All I could see were negatives; the things I'd have to cancel, the retreats and conferences I'd no longer be able to participate in, the limitations of recovery, the people I'd be letting down, and the uncertainty of it all.  

I never could have imagined what the fruits of that time would be (apart from a matching pair of metal knees and, hopefully, the ability to walk pain-free!).

So here I am, two months on from the second surgery, and in awe at what's about to be launched: a new book - 'Dwelling in the Psalms'.   In six months, following my first operation, I reflected and prayed with a psalm a day, starting with Psalm 1 and ending at  …  the end!  And Kevin Mayhew have transformed my words into this beautiful book.

In the early days after surgery, when even rising from a chair required the most gargantuan effort, Philippians 4.13 became my mantra:  "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".  Not too surprising then that this prayer was birthed as I reflected with Psalm 21 ...

Father,

I thank you

for blessing upon blessing

of answered prayers:

I lift my praises to you,

for you have been my strength

in the past

and will be so

in the future.

Keep me

from the temptation

of striving to resolve things

alone;

help me

to surrender all my struggles

to you,

naturally,

easily,

willingly.

Remind me

again, and again,

that I can do all things

through Christ

who strengthens me.     Amen

Could 150 prayers like this help you,
or someone whom you know?  

Would you like to read the associated reflections too?  

And 150 contemporary interpretations of the psalms?  

The book's available to pre-order here and will be in Christian bookshops from October 17th.

'All things through Christ' image credit: AK & Co
.