Prayer for Relief

by Laura M. Thieme, Mom

Prayer for Relief - Offer Immediate Assistance & Financial Solutions
Contribution

I was brought into this world by the Grace of God, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, St. Francis,  my wonderful parents, Don & Carole Thieme, and whatever else moved the universe in the right way at the right time in 1968. My parents baptized me Catholic. I was raised Catholic. I have led a Christian life, with errors, for most of my life.

I’ve tried to understand different cultures, religions for most of my adult life. I’ve not felt the need to “pray for relief” until the past 18 months. I’ve never felt this extreme level of attack on our family for so long, as I have for the past 18 months, but realistically, it’s been going on for much longer. It took a major wake up call for the pasts 18 months for me to see more of what was happening. I’m asking for a prayer for relief, on every level possible, for family and friends.

While “Prayer for Relief” is used in legal filings, it’s also a part of the Surviving Displacement article series and very much a daily need, for anyone who is experiencing displacement (regardless of reasons).

Prayer for Relief can also be referenced as a prayer for Mercy to anyone who is inflicting stress, distress, coercion, sadness, manufacturing grief in some form, or anything that you would not want done to you, or anyone you love, care about, or genuinely admire. 

In non-legal formats, here are examples of prayers for relief that are tangible items needed for a person surviving displacement. 

1. Gas cards - this is the most basic need for someone who is without sufficient income. This is a universal need if you have a gas or hybrid car. It also helps with C-Store grocery or food and beverage snack items. If you drive a fully electric car, or someone in your family does, then you need credits for charging your vehicle. If you are surviving displacement, you might also need the ability to occasionally wash your car. With gas prices ranging between $3-$5.00/gallon, nationwide in the United States, you’ll need a gas card of at least $50 if you’d also like a beverage or snack item. Or, be like Mark, someone who just offered to fill up someone’s gas tank yesterday. What a blessing he is to a good person at the right moment. Offer a $1 or more, if possible, if someone is at a Costco Gas Station in Corona, and is asking you for contributions. 
   
   
2. Showers & Restrooms - this is a basic human right. If you are displaced, and you have some income, having the ability to take a shower every other day, is crucial. One way to manage this is by joining a nationwide gym franchise that has the least expensive options for 3-4 times a week to work out and shower. Sometimes you might just be getting the shower, because when you’re in survival mode, you don’t have the time to always work out. You might be exhausted. Orangetheory Fitness has become my nationwide preferred solution. They have been fantastic, nationwide. Thank you, OTF. For any city offering “Health & Wellness” programs, or funding these programs, you could offer discounts at any of the 24/7 or fitness facilities of 25%-50%, if the resident is willing to attend workouts at least once or twice a week. This is beneficial to all involved. The business benefits, the person benefits, and the family benefits. Most of these offer “family fitness memberships”. Look for those facilities who have showers and are as safe as possible. Some of these fitness facilities are run by the City of (Example: City of Mission Viejo, California, or the YMCA in Mission Viejo). 
   
   
3. More portable restrooms and showers are needed for surviving displacement. This is something EVERY single church, civic center and community center could offer in every town. If there is a disaster, environmental impact, that causes large scale displacements, you’re going to hope that your church that you donated to, as well as your civic center, and your community center where you’ve interacted for the past several years, HAS a shower and restroom available. For older adults, children, it’s important to offer these services almost 24/7. Dignity is crucial. It could be you. Don’t underestimate what could happen to you too. I never thought I’d be displaced, EVER. Unfortunately, someone decided to take advantage of three incidents to make it almost unsurvivable. 
   
   
4. Drive thru gift cards - this is something to add a little joy to someone’s life as well as survival food and beverage. If your police department or city department has a “health and wellness” or iCare program, like City of Irvine does, it needs to do more to offer actual benefits, not a one time $25 gas card for a mom fighting back to save her family. Especially a mom who has been active in the community for 11 years, and has contributed in numerous ways. No brand competition. This is a universal need. Food and beverage companies, franchises, and various organizations could contribute these to local churches (Saddleback Church Lake Forest Peace Center, or Saddleback Church Lake Forest Food Pantry, or wherever your local church is located) for members who’ve donated at least once….. in the past. Reserve these benefits when possible for donating members, but in the true spirit of helping others, neighbors as well as strangers, perhaps reserve an allotment or percentage for those who are not members, and are genuinely in need. 
   
   
   
5. If you represent a social services agency (SSA) in any city, or county, and you are funded by government money, offer gas cards, food cards, and gift cards to any family experiencing a dependency court case that you brought forward. If you brought the case, on the family, offer something good in return. Let’s start with the above items mentioned as well as a few other items that would genuinely ensure a person’s life is “enriched” during a difficult time. Pedicures, manicures once a quarter, would be seriously appreciated by a mom and her daughter experiencing something like this. Remember, your social worker brought the claim. The parent might be in “self defense” mode. So, if you have an active or open dependency court case, or a family law case, and social workers and agencies are involved, here is my suggestion: offer something fun for the family, or parents or teenagers involved to do. Many families believe in Sunday church days, and or Sunday fun days. When those days aren’t happening for whatever reason, for an extended period of time, grief and sadness result. It is the shared liability of that organization (42 USC 1983) to prove that it shows reasonable efforts to reunify a family, and ensure that family is restored, supported and improved upon. If you are paid a salary, or paid to work for a social services agency, your desired and designated position is to help others. Don’t forget that. Don’t forget that a person is innocent until proven guilty. Grief is not a mental illness, nor is it a mental health problem. Don’t manufacture grief. 
   
   
6. Rapid Rehousing programs - I have participated in a rapid rehousing program for 90 days. I was unable to get rehoused. The 90 days program co-exists with a referral that comes from the social worker. The social worker has a legal requirement to prove reasonable efforts were made to rehouse a family who is in the midst of a difficult time, due to a court case. I found housing. I applied for conventional and affordable housing units at three different locations with a company I’ve already paid $215,000+ in 10 years of living in Irvine, CA. Yes, $215k already paid into the city of Irvine and surrounding county. I was given two units to review, one three bedroom and one two bedroom. As soon as I reviewed the favored unit, I was told I needed a personal guarantor. That because the blocker or barrier to get rehoused rapidly relied on that one requirement, that some might have known I wouldn’t have.
   
   
7. Understanding mental health, and grief. My parents have died. 2022 and 2024. At the same time, I lost the paying fulltime salaried job at the time my father was dying in 2024, but I didn’t lose my full time job (that is also not paid) as mom. I’m in overtime mode on that one, for 17+ years and not one dollar has been earned as mom. I’d like to change this. I’d like this to be on the ballot, nationwide, starting in 2026. I’d like for every person on the their ballots, and already running for election, to add it to their campaign promises and figure out how they’re going to fund it, starting right now. Note: grief is not a mental illness. Anyone who begins to state: you have a mental illness and therefore do not have basic human rights, or civil rights, or liberties to take care of your family, your rights are being violated. Never accuse someone of being mentally ill, in writing, publicly, or in verbal form. Even if you are a medical professional, you represent an opinion. It is not the measure of one’s life, nor is it the measure of one moment in time, or the entirety of one’s life. Prayer for relief would be re-examining the power that someone has by “claiming any form of mental illness” that has a negative impact on the family unit or anyone within a family. Rewrite legislation STAT. Make it easier for families to seek relief, and to stay together. No one should ever feel like someone is for sale or exploitation or forced into a certain directive in life, as a result of claiming someone is mentally ill. 
   
   
8. Freedom of press - study your constitutional rights 
   
   
9. Freedom of expression - study your constitutional rights.
   
   
10. Freedom of thoughts - and the protection of those thoughts, and your brain, neural activities and what you see, think, write and read. 
    
    
11. Remember, you take away someone’s rights, you might have it done to you when you least expect it. 
    
    
12. Praying does help. Going to church absolutely helps. Listening actively to what others are saying around you, helps. But it does not replace action you must take in order to try to improve the situation, even when someone is choosing to make your life difficult due to their own hatred, bias, or genuine dislike for something about you based on their own experiences, bad or good. I choose to go to church typically once a week. I’ve done this for most of my life. I am interested in going to different churches, but I’ve learned towards certain churches where I felt like my daughter and I could easily listen and make positive choices for the week ahead. I’ve also heard very negative messages giving powers to certain individuals as if the Bible is supposed to allow that person to do whatever they want, because somewhere in the Bible it says that it’s been done before. God, Jesus, the saints, and all the women in the Bible have had certain roles. What’s concerning is when a church leader is determined to force a woman and her children into specific roles, that are not leadership positions. It also concerns me when I don’t see the spouses or women in leadership roles every single Sunday or weekend at church. I appreciate churches that as of 2026, are not trying to force females into submissive or follower roles. 
    
    
13. Drive cross country instead of flying WHEN possible, to see family. Move closer to your family. Do whatever is possible, based on your circumstances. The biggest regrets as part of my own grief process is not being closer to my parents, after my daughter was born. There is so much I’m still learning about what happened for the past 17+ years, that I absolutely regret not having that family unit where grandparents are part of the daily routine, as opposed to “see them at Christmas and for holiday” routine. Sometimes “following your dream” won’t be as po9sitive long term, if you don’t live close to family. I always considered my work associates my extended family because I spent more hours with them, to help others, and create salaries for multiple individuals including our family, but when crisis evolves, you might wish you had your mom, your father, your sisters, your brothers, closer to you, geographically and spiritually. Spend more time with family. 

Try not to judge or quickly assume something about anyone. The reality is that those who have access to massive data systems, might know something about you, that you don’t, and the same about your family. Privacy, governance and who has access to super admin controls on customer and individual databases is crucial. What happens when someone is monitoring everything you do, or your family, 24-7, and what happens when that person has a personal grudge against you or someone else in your family. This is part of my prayer for relief. If you are in charge of a customer database, or a patient database, review the governance controls right now. Who has access to your data, and where you are, what you do, and who you talk with. If that person has the ability to affect positive outcomes, or the converse, if they’re doing it to me or my family, they could do it to you too. Let’s fix that, God, please. My prayer for relief is for all of us to put the vengeance and vendettas aside. A thought is a moment in time. but an action creates happiness, or manufactures something else. 

Manufacture happiness for all, without it necessarily creating happiness for you.