Please Remember

Each morning before breakfast, as the whirling dervishes play in their room and Thomas and I complete our bed making, I ask my three little boys who they would like to remember in their prayers for that day. As names are shouted out from various locations, I light a stick of incense which lies on a bedroom dresser pressed against a wall generous with images of Christ, His Mother, and those men and women the Church recognizes as saints. As I stand for just a few minutes in the presence of these beloved friends in prayer and watch the smoke waft throughout this sacred space, I am always reminded of the words of the psalmist which are so familiar to the Orthodox Christian: "Let my prayer arise in thy sight as incense and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice." Today as we pray together, my boys and I will especially remember those 20,000,000 (Lord have mercy) children who have been orphaned throughout the world because of AIDS. I am asking you who are reading this to also remember these most precious in God's sight in your prayers. And in response to a challenge offered by AHOPE for Children on this World AIDS Orphan Day, our family will be making a small monetary donation and I would ask that you would also please consider contributing anything you can. We might not think we have much to give, but I truly believe that it will make a difference. In the words of Mother Teresa let's "take the little we have and make it something beautiful for God." A blessed and peaceful day to you all.