{"id":1380,"date":"2014-06-16T06:00:58","date_gmt":"2014-06-16T10:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/?p=1380"},"modified":"2014-06-12T16:31:53","modified_gmt":"2014-06-12T20:31:53","slug":"women-ive-never-met","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/2014\/06\/women-ive-never-met.html","title":{"rendered":"Women I\u2019ve Never Met"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0By Teresa Schreiber Werth<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m praying for women I\u2019ve never met.
\n<\/strong>As I lay down and close my eyes, names tumble into my consciousness
\n<\/strong>Like cottonwood seeds, descending from a quiet, summer sky.
\n<\/strong>Each day I\u2019m touched as the tangled threads of our lives entwine.
\n<\/strong>A daughter of a friend, a mother, a neighbor\u2019s sister, cousin,\u00a0<\/strong>co-worker.
\n<\/strong>One by one, they take their place in my nightly prayers:
\nTheo, whose tumor they hope to shrink. Lisa, who\u2019s traded chemo for morphine.
\n<\/strong>Maureen and Suzanne, strangers all, but sisters of a stranger sort.
\n<\/strong>We\u2019ve never met, but we have met the enemy
\n<\/strong>And it\u2019s not us.
\n<\/strong>We\u2019ve cried and cursed, wailed and shaken angry fists at a rotten\u00a0<\/strong>fate,\u00a0<\/strong>at a physical failing, a cause unknown.
\n<\/strong>We\u2019ve hoped and prayed, trusted, queried,
\n<\/strong>Asked, begged and believed
\n<\/strong>Until there are\u00a0<\/strong>no more words,
\n<\/strong>Only the slish of oars skimming the water,
\n<\/strong>Softly whispering, \u201cHope, hope, hope\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

* ***
\nDonna Henes is the author of The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife<\/em>.<\/a> She offers counseling and upbeat, practical and ceremonial guidance for individual women and groups who want to enjoy the fruits of an enriching, influential, purposeful, passionate, and powerful maturity. Consult the MIDLIFE MIDWIFE\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n

The Queen welcomes questions concerning all issues of interest to women in their mature years. Send your inquiries to thequeenofmyself@aol.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0By Teresa Schreiber Werth \u00a0 I\u2019m praying for women I\u2019ve never met. As I lay down and close my eyes, names tumble into my consciousness Like cottonwood seeds, descending from a quiet, summer sky. Each day I\u2019m touched as the tangled threads of our lives entwine. A daughter of a friend, a mother, a neighbor\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":218,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[278,103,13],"class_list":["post-1380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-womens-issues","tag-community","tag-compassion","tag-holistic-living"],"yoast_head":"\nWomen I\u2019ve Never Met - The Queen of My Self<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/2014\/06\/women-ive-never-met.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Women I\u2019ve Never Met - The Queen of My Self\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0By Teresa Schreiber Werth \u00a0 I\u2019m praying for women I\u2019ve never met. 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