A Small Hopeful Prayer

I am not, by nature, a very religious person in my day to day life. I am not, by nature, one who believes that organized religion is the path that is right for her. I do not however disregard how much strength of character and will some of my friends and family gain from attending church on a regular basis and worshiping in the ways that they see fit. I will not try to push my views on others and I will not try to make other people believe what I believe. Tonight, though, I would like to have anyone that reads this journal and does believe in praying to read my words and send your own as well.
I offer a simple but hopefully strong message when I want to pray for all of the families and friends that have been affected by this war, fought not on our own soil, but with the lives of our loved ones. I pray for our loved ones in Iraq and all around the globe that have dedicated a portion and perhaps their entire lives to serving our country. I pray for the loved ones that are left behind. I wish for all of them that their friends and families serving overseas will return home soon and can find peace and comfort with their families again. I want everyone to return safely, healthy and happy. My normal prayers are usually for those specific friends and family members that are going through rough spots of their own, and I always add that I pray for the rest of those who have touched my life in so many ways, that they are also happy, healthy and safe. For my personal part, I have not been directly affected by the war in Iraq in the sense that a family member is there. However, I do have friends in the military that will hopefully not, but possibly soon, find themselves in a position of active duty serving in a war zone. I pray that they do not have to go. I pray especially for a friend I knew in highschool, that I don't talk to on a regular basis anymore, but through other friends I know that she is facing probably the roughest nine months of her life, as her husband of just over a year will soon be heading to the Middle East. I pray for her husband as well. I pray for my friend back in Iowa City who has another good friend in the military who has been serving in Iraq for almost the whole time I have known her. I pray for the victims in Iraq and those on the soil in which this war is being fought. I pray that this war will cease to be an event affecting all our lives, in the small or large ways, that it has affected each and every one of us.