simpple019

This month my dear friend Lori took a birthday vacation to the Holy Land. One day while she was there, I received a Facebook message from her. "I went to the Western Wall today."

I thought of pictures I'd seen of the Western Wall, also known by some as the Wailing Wall, a 1601-foot long limestone wall in Old City of Jerusalem.

"It's a custom to stick notes in the cracks between the stones to ask God to grant requests," she continued. "I wrote a special one for Ernest."

So tiny!

 Ernest was just diagnosed with cancer.

"There is very little space in that wall, and it's difficult to stuff the notes in the cracks, so that's why the paper is so small!" Over a million notes are placed in the Western Wall each year!

I was so touched that my friend brought such a special request across so many miles to a place so far away.

Here is the note tucked in the stones:

Ernest's note.

Thank you Lori for praying for Ernest, and for bringing this request to God in such a special way.

My friend Lori at the Western Wall.

Thank you God for hearing this prayer. We pray Ernest will be healed of his cancer. Amen.

This is a blog hop for a sweet dog, Sugar the Golden Retriever. She's having surgery this Friday to have a mass removed from her spleen. Oz the Terrier organized this blog hop to show support for Sugar and her mom and dad. The theme is “When I See Sugar Smile…” to tell her family how much Sugar’s smile means to each of us.

Sugar has a beautiful golden retriever smile, and WHEN I SEE SUGAR SMILE I think of how lucky she is to have a loving family who cares for her and her needs. It makes me happy that so many of Sugar's friends are dogs who have happy, loving homes with caring pet parents.  Every dog deserves love, and Sugar's smile radiates love.

I'm praying for a successful surgery and swift recovery. And here is a smile for you from IKE!