ann kiemel

a phone call.
one of my sons. i
was sitting in the california highway patrol office.
waiting for my car to be
inspected. long overdue.

"mom, please pray for me.
i am having a problem with
my soul...."

"with what, darling?"

"my soul! i have lost my
fire. my peace. and i don't
know why..."

my entire world faded.
the noise around me.
the police officer waiting to
give me the final approval.
one of my children was worried
about his soul.

how many...especially one in
his mid-twenties...can identify a
soul issue? pinpoint that as the
source of lost joy and peace?

"darling, i have been struggling,
too. sometimes feeling far from
God. unworthy of His blessings.
Jesus is looking at you even as
we speak. with such a smile of
love. you are His treasure...and
He is bigger than our sins and
thoughts. He is our Deliverer."

"mom! my ride to work is here.
i love you, mom..."

"darling, of anyone i have ever met,
at the tiniest. truest pinpoint of
the soul, you are the purest. Jesus
will lead you out. i will be on a
prayer vigil for you. oh, i love you."

and i find myself on my face.
constantly crying out for my
children. for me....their mother.
a fellow runner in the Race.

"o my God, my soul is cast down"...
you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You,
because he trusts in You."
psalm 42 & isaiah 26