Good morning, today I am starting with a little story I came across that inspired the prayer below. Hope you’re encouraged by it. Blessings for a wonderful day.
At 40, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who never married and had no children, was walking through a park one day in Berlin when he met a girl who was crying because she had lost her favourite doll. She and Kafka searched for the doll unsuccessfully. Kafka told her to meet him there the next day and they would come back to look for her. The next day, when they had not yet found the doll, Kafka gave the girl a letter "written" by the doll saying "please don't cry. I took a trip to see the world. I will write to you about my adventures." Thus began a story which continued until the end of Kafka's life. During their meetings, Kafka read the letters of the doll carefully written with adventures and conversations that the girl found adorable. Finally, Kafka brought back the doll (he bought one) that had returned to Berlin. "It doesn't look like my doll at all," said the girl. Kafka handed her another letter in which the doll wrote: "my travels have changed me." The little girl hugged the new doll and brought the doll with her to her happy home. A year later Kafka died. Many years later, the now-adult girl found a letter inside the doll. In the tiny letter signed by Kafka it was written: "Everything you love will probably be lost, but in the end, love will return in another way." Embrace change. It's inevitable for growth. Together we can shift pain into wonder and love, but it is up to us to consciously and intentionally create that connection. ❤️
Gracious Father,
You are the God who sees (Genesis 16:13), who draws near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). In a world where so much we love seems to slip through our fingers, You remain our constant, unchanging refuge (Malachi 3:6; Psalm 46:1).
Lord, as we reflect on the story of Franz Kafka and the little girl grieving her lost doll, we see a picture of how You meet us in our sorrow. When what we cherish is lost, You do not leave us comfortless. Just as Kafka gave the child hope and a new story to hold on to, so too You give us Your promises—written with love and sealed with grace.
Thank You, God, that in Your hands, loss is never the end of the story. As Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24).
We believe that even in death, in change, in grief—You are bringing forth life. Lord, help us embrace the seasons of change with trust in Your sovereign plan. As You say in Ecclesiastes 3:1, "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." When we face loss, remind us that You are still writing our story. When what once brought joy is gone, teach us to wait for the new joy You are preparing (Isaiah 43:19).
Renew in us a childlike faith—to receive each moment as a gift, to believe that though everything we love may seem lost, Your love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8). Teach us that love may return not always in the way we expect, but always in the way we need. Let Your Spirit be the comforter of all who mourn (Matthew 5:4), the writer of new hope in the hearts of the weary, and the giver of good gifts—sometimes different than we asked, but always better than we imagined (Ephesians 3:20).
In all our losses, remind us of Jesus—the One who was lost for our sake, who gave Himself so that love might return forever in Him. For it is through His life, death, and resurrection that we find redemption, hope, and the courage to love again.
We pray this in the name of the One who restores all things, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.