Article March 1, 2004 Issue

Prayer during financial crisis

By Cynthia Neely

Like any daughter who loves her mother, I wanted to do whatever I could to help mine when she became ill. Before this, Mom and I had been sharing a townhouse for several years, and she had always paid her part of the expenses. When she was no longer able to work, however, I took over not only the housing expenses but the payment of her nursing care as well. first, I thought I could handle the added expenses. But over time, I became burdened with the escalating, ongoing costs. I was increasingly afraid that I wouldn't be able to manage everything.

Because my work involved extensive travel, I was often away from home for long periods. During those times, Mom would go to a Christian Science nursing facility for the ongoing care she needed. And even when I was not on the road, she would sometimes need to have a Christian Science nurse on hand in the home. As anyone who has been in these situations knows, this type of day-and-night care can be quite costly. I would try to pay off the nursing bill from the nursing facility at the same time that I was also incurring new nursing expenses at home. The debt was rising and things were looking desperate.

In response to this threat to my financial well-being, I prayed for peace of mind and for the answers that I knew God would give me to meet this need. I kept going back to inspiration from a story in the Bible about a woman named Hannah was unable to conceive, and she felt incomplete. She was desperate to have a child. Although Hannah's husband, Elkanah, assured her that he loved her even if she couldn't conceive, to Hannah, her worth and her wealth could only be realized by having a son. She wept "bitterly" and couldn't eat.