Prayer Shirts
Right before surgery, I started receiving photos like these, photos of friends wearing shirts that said “Faith over Fear.” My favorite detail was the image of Haiti on the shirts. However, I had no idea where the shirts were coming from or who had started this. As time passed, I got some of the backstory, but this weekend, my dear friend, Tonya Fink, took her time to write the following.
The idea began with Greg and I trying to come up with some way that we could support you, like you did for us. We talked about going to Duke and being there for your surgery. That didn’t seem very practical since there are 8 of us;).
Greg had the idea that we should have a t-shirt made and have our family wear it and take a photo and send it to you. The wheels started turning…yes! That would be awesome! Let’s make shirts for us and reach out to Becky’s friends and see if anyone else would want to jump on the bandwagon. We’ll put on our shirts, take a photo and send it to you for encouragement.
I thought it would be amazing to have all the kids at Kay Timoun and the staff have shirts also. Before we got the idea out there, someone had already asked about paying for the Haiti shirts, although Steeve was insistent that he pay for his own! I ordered 59 shirts in that first order.
Your friend, Susannah, sent me a message asking about getting some shirts, and she referred to them as “prayer shirts”. Kinda like a prayer shawl, we’ll pray for you every time we wear our shirts. A visible reminder to pray. To my surprise, several of my friends that don’t even know you wanted to buy shirts. I had no idea why!
Let me back up and talk about the design. We really wanted the #fearisnotmyfuture and something relating to Haiti on the shirts. I have a sweet friend who is a graphic designer and when she sent me the mock up, I knew this was the one. I just needed her to add “team Becky”. The teal color was for ovarian cancer.
As I delivered the shirts, everyone had different reasons for wanting to buy the shirts. My friend, Michelle said that it was a visible way for her to share Christ. Whenever someone asked her about it, she could point them to Him! She’s the one who wanted to donate some money to Haiti Awake! Another one of my friends had been battling breast cancer. This was a way for her to show support for others battling cancer. At church the other night, a man asked me about you and your ministry. He wants more information about Haiti Awake! I just need to remember to bring him some info!
After the first wave of t-shirts, others wanted to join in. As I was at the post office preparing to ship them, a guy stopped me. He was a tough looking dude. He looked like he hadn’t had a bath in quite a while and like maybe he wanted to kill me;). I paused and told him what the t-shirts are and to my surprise, he said, “Can I have her name? I would like to pray for her!”
What?!?! That was totally unexpected. As I was checking out, he asked if he and his girlfriend could buy shirts. They were praying but, wanted a “prayer shirt”! I was reminded (once again) not to judge a book by it’s cover!
As I left, he yelled after me, “My girlfriend and I are praying for Becky!”
What started out as just a way for us to show you how important and special you are to us turned into So. Much. More!
We are truly grateful for the gift of you in our lives and hope that each time you get a photo of someone wearing their “prayer shirt”, you’ll be reminded of the impact you have had in so many lives! We love you!!
Had you asked me a month ago if t-shirts be an encouragement to me, my answer would have been, “I really don’t think so.” But what I have found, one photo at a time, is that I have appreciated this thoughtful act of kindness more than words can express.
I am so thankful for the many friends who have shown up and continue to do so in different ways. You encourage me daily.
