On Easter Sunday in 1981, the man I'd waited many years for the Lord to show me, asked me to marry him. On Saturday after Easter in 1982, we said our vows before all our family and friends. The following Easter Sunday 1983 we brought home from the hospital our beautiful baby girl. And the Saturday after Easter in 1984, I laid to rest my wonderful Tom, along with all our hopes and dreams for a long blessed future together as a family.

The faithful love and support of our extended family and our church family sustained us in those awful days. And over the years the Lord continued to bring into our paths the most marvelous of surprises and blessings.

To honor the memory and spirits of all those amazing God-incidences in our lives, the Holy Spirit put on my heart to bring Lift Up Your Prayer Ministry to my church. Since the spring of 2003, our ministry has expanded to many other area churches, and has presented literally hundreds of prayer shawls to local folks as well as people all over the country. And my sister Miss Thelma inspired me so at a conference many years ago; her books and messages have been a huge source of blessing and affirmation to me and to all our prayer shawl members.

Mary Ellen Arden
Prayer Shawl Ministry Moderator
Guardian Angels/Good Shepherd Church
Rochester, NY

Back to Story List