In the last three months, I’ve had surgery, been on an international trip (the trip of a lifetime with my parents who are in their eighties), traveled 1000 miles to attend the funeral of an 18 year old, celebrated a birthday, learned that my 85 year old dad was told by his doctor that he should give up driving, said goodbye to our beloved dog of 14 years after a traumatic accident, traveled for a long weekend, attended a backyard concert, volunteered at my church fair, and had numerous physical therapy appointments – all while working full time and being a student in a doctoral program. It’s been a bit of a roller coaster. I realized that the sleepless nights lately have been mostly because my subconscious is worrying the problem about my parents as they are still very active but starting to need more help. When I awoke the other night at 2 a.m. – not the first time – and thought I would not get back to sleep, I prayed and let go of my worry and fell immediately back to sleep. The power of prayer is amazing. We need only ask God for His grace and mercy; He loves us so incredibly much and wants to grant us peace. I’m thankful that when I remember to turn to Him, He is always at the ready. He longs to give me serenity.