We’re on a family holiday
in Sligo
but far away in Belfast
my friend is undergoing
medical tests
and I can’t get him
out of my mind.
No matter where I go
I keep firing prayers
up into the heavens
like fireworks
on a cold November night.
Sheep skip daintily
out of our way,
graceful as ballet dancers
as we circle Lough Easkey
on mountain tracks.
Lord,
please bless my friend
in his illness.
Grant him the wisdom
to face his illness
one day at a time,
one step at a time.
Walking round the green, velvet slopes
of Ben Bulben
which towers, imposingly, above us
in the rain.
Turning a corner
we spy a rainbow mist
suspended hazily
above the sea.
It couldn’t have formed
without all of this rain!
Lord,
please bless my friend.
Help him, in his illness,
to notice and to cherish
the many blessings
that you will send,
so unexpectedly,
his way.
The sands of Enniscrone strand
glisten in the morning sun
and dry sand slithers and swirls
like ghostly mists
across the beach
while the Atlantic ocean
twinkles in the sun.
This breath-taking beauty
calms the soul today
and yet it took millions of years
to form.
Lord,
please bless my friend
with the gift of patience
as he waits for test results
without the welcome distraction
of work.
Smells of autumn fill the air
as we dander along
tree-lined paths of Beleek Wood.
Sun filters through a canopy
of green and yellow leaves overhead.
The River Moy glides quietly by
while wading birds step lightly
on silver mud flats.
Such a sense of stillness here!
Lord,
please bless my friend with peace
deep down
at the centre of his being,
that deep-seated peace
that comes only
from you.
The heavens open
as we walk along the shore at Easkey,
drenching us
in early morning rain
while a curious seal
plays “peek-a-boo”
in thundering waves
of the Atlantic ocean.
Lord,
please let my friend
be drenched by my prayer.
Bless him with your precious gifts
of healing and peace.
Please send your Holy Spirit
to give him
all of the strength that he needs
to battle his illness.
And, in the meantime,
I’ll keep praying!
(c) Claire Murray