Urgent prayer requests

I don't know if anyone reads here anymore. I'm afraid I've barely kept up with others' blogs, let alone my own, of late, for various reasons, none of which are worth detailing. I'm just very tired and dazed but compared to most, I have every reason to count my blessings.

I just got off the phone with a dear, dear friend who is having a terrible time and asks that she and her daughter be put on a prayer list or prayer chain, especially for the next month or two. I won't reveal all the details but let's just say that it's nasty post-divorce stuff with her ex-husband -- she has been doing all that she was supposed to per the divorce decree about trying to sell their home by May, when their daughter graduates from high school and the alimony and child support ends but now he is trying to screw everything up, legally, financially, and emotionally. This is typical behavior from a man who has long been abusive, but at least since the divorce several years ago he was mostly absent from their lives (had nothing to do with his daughter, his only child, for years until a month or so ago). Please pray that they get through the sale of the home and can move away far enough so he will not bother them anymore, and finally find some peace and happiness. Please include Christine and Elizabeth in your prayers.

Pray also for others struggling with financial and emotional hardships, especially those with greater burdens and obstacles created by the current financial climate. The husband in another family I know was missing for several hours last night until they found him alone in his car crying. He has been unemployed now since last fall and is deep in despair. Please pray for M. and his family.

Then there is Rick, who just arrived in Bangkok to teach for 3 years. He was denied tenure in the public school system here and was unable to find any other work. He leaves his family behind here in New York and hopes to make enough money to send back to help support them.

And as always, there is Sophia, who is having a very tough time, as well, but for whom I hope and pray daily will soon find her way forward.

Thank you. This is a sad, difficult time for so many.