There are days when it feels like everyone else's burden is trying to sit on my shoulders. And while I am very willing to lend a helping hand and a listening ear, I have to learn to draw a line between sharing the pain and carry and fix it all myself.

Since I am involved with so many families every day I find myself a part, in one way or another, of a lot of different stories. Just a few from this week are -

The single mother who took her child to the Dr. today for an ear infection and bad cold and was unable to fill the prescription for antibiotics because the Medicaid coverage for her child was dropped for some reason unknown to her.

The mother of three who is trying to grasp the diagnosis of Autism for her two year old and what it means for him and the family.

The grandmother who has custody of and is raising her grandson who was told yesterday that the two rounds of radiation treatment the she just went through for cancer in several parts of her body did not do what they had hoped. Now they need to explore other options - chemotherapy and surgery being two. This is the her second fight with cancer after five years of being cancer free.

The single mother of a two year old who has been told that her job is in jeopardy due to cutbacks where she works.

The single mother of three who has had her hours severely cut back and is struggling to make ends meet and feeling like she's fighting a losing battle.

When those who come into my home every day, people I consider friends, are having struggles like this, I want to be able to fix it somehow. And many times I have nearly made myself depressed and anxious trying to find all the answers. But I am learning that even though I can't always help in the ways I wish I could there are things that I can do.

I can listen.

I can provide a safe haven for the children who are affected by these situations. I can make sure that when they are with me that there is a peaceful, loving, supportive and wholesome environment.

I can pray. This is the most important action I can take. Pray for wisdom, strength and peace for all involved. Pray for healing. Pray for miracles. Prayer does change things. It's not my job to fix the problems, I simply need to take them to the One who loves each of us more than we can imagine.