Last night I prayed the same prayer I prayed four and a half months ago....
It was for my daughter Ashley, and the prayer starts out as, "Lord, do whatever it takes to bring Ashley back to YOU, and keep her safe. Keep her safe spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Please Lord, whatever it takes." God has answered this prayer BOTH times I prayed this, but not in the way I expected. The first time I prayed this prayer for her, she had been kicked out of her apartment, living in her car for two days, and had less than a dollar to her name. I had no idea she was in this circumstance but I was worried about her life choices and I had run into a friend's Mother who shared her story of this same prayer for her daughter many years ago. That night I sobbed and pleaded this prayer for many hours and the next day my daughter called and asked for help, and to move back home. She stated she had hit rock bottom and once George and I met with her, we knew she was in a place to hear us. I knew my prayer was not a coincidence to her phone call, and at first I was humbled and grateful that we had received such a clear answer from God. Then my selfiness set in and I began to worry about the stress and problems that may occur having her live with us. You see, George and I had been on a long journey of trying to have a baby and we had just found out we were pregnant. Stress was the last thing we needed, but obedience and faith that God had this worked out for us pulled us through. The second time I prayed this prayer was last night during the winter snow storm. We had not heard from her after many messages and texts sent. George had the opportunity to come home a day earlier than expected from business travel and we went to bed and tried to sleep. I went in and out of a fitful sleep and then started to pray the "whatever it takes" prayer. Several hours later, this prayer was answered by her calling at 2:13 am and crying out for help. She had drank too much and couldn't see any further to drive and pulled into the next available parking lot. It was a church of course and George and I rushed to her aid on the icy roads. We brought her safely home and we realized how active God is in our lives when we turn things over to him. The way God answered both of these prayers was not what I expected, but he answered in a way that we could know him more closely and model many of his characteristics through Love, redemption, sacrifice, grace, and forgiveness. MY solution to my prayer never involved George and I, but God's solution made us part of his great story and made us know how much he love's us all.
