Since I can remember, I was always taught to say my prayers at bedtime and before every meal. When I was in kindergarten, I remember my mom telling my sister and I to add a little something extra to the end of those prayers. So, from that moment on, we would say grace: “Bless us, oh Lord, and these our gifts, which we are about to receive, from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord” and then we continued, “…and please help Daddy to get baptized. Amen.”
I never stopped adding that part, and actually kept expanding major requests that I can still recite, today. (“…and please help Daddy to get baptized; and please help Grandpa to be ok (added when I was about 10); and my love life with Michael be great and we get married and live happily ever after, and our babies are happy and healthy and become spiritually blessed (added at about 22)”.
Now, after adding a novella over the course of my life, my food gets cold before I can finish, but here’s the point I want to make! Lol
My Daddy was FINALLY baptized in 2002, but before then, only missed church when he was called out to the Kern River for a Search and Rescue mission as a member of the Kern County Sheriff’s Department Jeep Posse Reserve. He loved the Lord and had a super close relationship with Him for at least a decade.
It would turn out that I consistently prayed (along with my family) for about 30 years before God finally answered our prayer, and what an incredible event that was!!
In 2005, we had a formal, (for us! Lol) double surprise 60th Birthday Party for both of our parents, who were only 4 months apart, in age! It was such an amazing celebration and there were many friends and family members in attendance that hadn’t seen him in years!
Five months later, my Daddy went to be with Jesus, suddenly, after suffering a major heart attack, and basically died on the spot. No warning, no preparing, no praying, just gone.
I remember Michael Jay holding me, crying, and said something that I will never forget. “Thank God that he got baptized when he did.”
I was so lost in my own pain, I hadn’t even realized the miracles of God’s perfect timing and orchestration for the triumphant return of my Daddy to his real home in Heaven!
Although, losing my dad was one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced, as I look back, I can see God’s gentle touch on every single aspect of this life-changing event. There were so many miracles and “sweet signs” leading up to, during, and after his departure that our whole family witnessed. So many, in fact, that I had to write them all down so I would never forget how God’s loving kindness helped us through every second!
The lesson I learned, and want to share with you today, is that, WHATEVER it is that you’ve been praying for, “pray without ceasing”, my friends! 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 also reminds us to “rejoice always” and to “give thanks in all circumstances”. (Side note: Sometimes the rejoicing and thanking will come afterwards, but I now thank Him and rejoice BEFORE He answers, KNOWING that He WILL!)
Our timeline may not be the same one God is working on, but His plan and WHEN He answers our prayers is always PERFECT!
Sometimes our prayers are answered quickly, and sometimes it takes 30 years! Sometimes, even more! NOT because God is behind schedule or dilly dallying in His mighty works, but because we are His children and HE, alone, knows what is best for us.
If you’ve been praying for something and have yet to see an answer, just know that He has not left you nor forsaken you. He will bring your lost children to Him, He will heal you, He will transform your spouse’s heart into a heart of flesh, He will bring you that baby you’ve been yearning for, or the husband or wife He’s already chosen for you, He will help you with your job and finances, He will help you break the addiction.
He WILL answer your prayers, according to His will and His timing. You just have to have a little bit of faith, and sometimes, a WHOLE LOTTA' patience!!
(This picture was taken by my dear friend, Kristi Wolverton who saw that my son had left his rose on the dash of my dad's show car in the driveway after the funeral procession and captured what would become our family's "legacy" photo in memory of my Daddy.)
God is Love! Be the Light!
Xoxo
Wendy