Winter

Winter

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Thinking On Thursday

Now that school starts on Monday, I can say, summer is over. I go back to being teacher Mom and having a schedule. All summer I have prayed for an answer to a prayer that God has said " No," to all summer. I had the thought many, many times why should I bother to pray anyway. This summer, God has answered lots of prayers but not in the way I wanted. Yesterday, I was having my devotions and wouldn't you know that every time I pick up something it is about prayer. Not giving up. I wanted to share it here today. It has given me comfort. I am taking it out of one of my favorite books by Elisabeth Elliot, " Keep a Quiet Heart."


In  this story she shared a letter she received from a gal named Brenda Foltz of Princeton, Minnesota.

" I started up the rock as fast as I could, determined to " set my face like a flint" toward the peak. After a time, I came to a difficult ledge, and my breathless scrambling came to and abrupt halt. Suddenly, the rope was pulled too taut and hit me square in the eye. "Oh NO!" I  thought wildly,  " My contact lens is GONE!"
From my precarious perch I looked everywhere on the rope and the sharp granite rock for a tiny, transparent lens, which could easily be mistaken for a water droplet.

" Lord Jesus, help me find it!" I prayed and pleaded, knowing the hopelessness of my search with such limited mobility. I looked as long as I could maintain my hold praying with a sinking heart. Finally I resumed my climb with one last glimmer of hope---maybe the contact was still in my eye, crumpled in the corner or up under my eyelid. When I reached the top. I had a friend check to see if she could find it in my eye. It wasn't there. Every hope was gone.

I was disappinted, and anxious about getting a new contact so far away from home. As we sat and rested, surveying the world from such a gloriously high perspective, the fragment of a verse popped into my head: "The eyes of God go to and fro through the whole earth."
God knows exactly where my contact is this moment from His high vantage point, the amazing thought struck me. But I'll never see it again, I concluded.

So, still glum, I headed down the path to the bottom where the others were preparing to climb, About  half and hour later another girl set out where I had also begun my climb. She had no inkling of the missing contact. But there, at the steep bottom of the rock face, she let out and excited cry. " Hey you guys---did anyone lose a contact!" I rushed over as she continued yelling, " There's an ANT carrying a contact down the mountain!"

Sure enough. Special delivery! I bent down, retrieved my contact from the hardworking ant, doused it with water and put it back in my eye, rejoicing. I was in awe, as if my Father had just given me, though so undeserving, big hug, and said, " My precious daughter, I care about every detail of your life."

After I finished reading this story, I put my book down and cried. I suppose I always think that I am the exception, that for some reason my prayers are not heard nor are they important enough for God to pay attention too. I thought about it all day, that girl in the story lost her contact, which an ant picked up and was bringing it down a moutain so I could read it and be encourged that yes, God has heard my prayers, but "chooses instead that sometimes He says no in order that He may, in some way we can not imagine, say yes.
All His ways with us are merciful. His meaning is always love."

I just thought I would share this today. It continues to be on my mind.

Have a great Thursday,

~ A much more peaceful Kim~

I am linking today with Doodlebug and her Faithful Fridays Post.
Sweet girl and a lovely post to go with it.
Doodlebug


24 comments:

Kim said...

That is a neat story. I'm so glad you shared. Sometimes we are so focused on the answer we want, we overlook the answer he has given us.

Kessie said...

I've been beating my head against the same wall. I'm afraid I'm becoming like Rebecca and taking God's lack of answer as the news that I need to scheme and do it my way, since God's obviously blown it. Thanks for this story.

TexWisGirl said...

i wish we could all get a feeling of hope today...

Tammy ~ Country Girl at Home ~ said...

Kim,

I know it was meant for me to hear that today. My husband and I were just talking about this very thing last night...about God's answers: yes, no, or wait. We've been getting alot of waits lately. And we got a no yesterday. There's peace in knowing we're in God's Will no matter what the answer is though.

Love Elisabeth Elliott and her beautiful insights. This story was wonderful. Something similiar happened to me. I lost the (not very big) diamond out of my engagement ring. I thought it was at a Valentines Day banquet where we were serving the youth. Well the diamond itself meant nothing to me, except that it was just my engagement ring with sentimental value. I still had the ring. Well 3 YEARS LATER....my nephew found it in the side of my chair. Now what's the chance of that? None except that the Lord cares about the little things that are important to me!

Thanks for sharing! God bless!

Tammy

Beth said...

A wonderful story. I believe that God hears our prayers but not always answers them the way we want.

Kathy ... aka Nana said...

Oh thank you so much for sharing that. I have to admit that I've had to remind myself that sometimes God is saying "wait" when I'm convinced that He has said "no" to my prayers. Praying that God will continue to give you peace and to show you that as always, His ways are far better than our ways. {{hug}}

Meg said...

I think the hardest part is remembering that "No" is an answer. Obviously not the one we want, but it is still an answer. It reminds of when the kids ask me for something and I tell them no, and the next thing I hear is "But I WANT (such and such)". Well, I'm sorry that you want it, but it wouldn't be good for you right now (like chocolate before dinner, so right now you have to deal with No.

Gosh, even typing it out with that example still makes it hard to deal with the No's I've gotten. Heh.

Susan Shull said...

Thank you so much for sharing this story! I have never heard of this author before, so I will check her out. I am touched once again by the power of our words and the need to share our stories for the encouragement of those around us!

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Oh how many times has he told me NO...but somehow he turns me the right direction every time, even if it isn't where I want to go!

Will and Tracy said...

My dearest (and only) sister. I have learned to be thankful for the "no's " because I realize His love is so great for me that He chooses for me. Left to my own strategies and designs have proven I am not equipped to be the captain of my life. Ask Him to open your eyes and heart to the yes, no and maybe answers. When I did that I learned His answers are such abundant blessings.

Heather said...

Thank you so much for sharing from the heart! Your story challenged me and was a blessing to my heart. Such a dewdrop of mercy story. God is in the little and big things! Thank you, thank you! And, thank you, Lord, for loving us in spite of ourselves!

Christine said...

What a powerful story! Thank you so much for sharing it today.
I will be praying for you and the prayer request you mentioned on Heather's blog.

Lynn said...

Oh my, Kim, sometimes I am floored by how someone else can be experiencing something so similar to what I'm experiencing; it's almost eerie! I have also read Elisabeth Elliot's Keep a Quiet Heart this spring and loved it. And I've also been dwelling more and more on prayer the last couple of years -- what it means, how to be faithful in it, what other authors have to say about it. I loved reading this post. God is good and He does answer, in His way and in His time. (Not on our timetable, harumph!) I've been collecting quotes on prayer the last couple years and looked for one from EE to share with you. I couldn't find one specifically on prayer, but here are two from Keep a Quiet Heart that I really liked:
"(Jesus) taught us to work and watch but never to worry, to do gladly whatever we are given to do, and to leave all else with God."
and
"A quiet heart is content with what God gives. It is enough."
Have a wonderful day, and thank you for your posts.

Miss Debbie said...

A wonderful story...thanks for sharing it. I'm glad you are feeling more peaceful. We are about to embark on something big here and I am a little anxious myself.Praying that we will be wise in our decisions. I'll let you now when our plans are final.Enjoy your last weekend before school starts!

http://bitsandpieces-sonja.blogspot.com/ said...

I can't even say in words what this story meant to me today. Sometimes we just need to hear God's confirmation on something... today it was here, with you and Elisabeth! Thanks Kim. :)

Lynn said...

Hi Kim, thanks for your response back at my blog. I'd love to hear more about prayer books you've been reading that you have enjoyed. A future post, maybe? :) I have been involved in a Moms in Touch (now called Moms in Prayer) group for the last few years and it has been such a blessing to me. If there is a group in your area, you might really like it. Our group is made of moms with college- and career-aged kids. There are also grandmas in touch groups and I'll bet there are some homeschooling prayer groups, too, if you have the time. Anyway, may God richly bless you as you come to Him in prayer. Thank you for always being so honest about what's going on with you! And if you ever want to email me, the link is on the sidebar of my blog.

Pom Pom said...

That IS an amazing story, Kim! Thank you for sharing! I wonder what the ant was thinking? Bathtub? Cool window in the ant nest? Well, I guess the point of the story is that he was following God's orders and I love that!
All things work together for good for us. He loves us and we love Him.
Hooray!
You are such a precious soul.

Simple Home said...

I've found that if I just get online a day or two a week, I get more done, but I'm so glad to catch up with your blog every time I get the chance. Thanks for sharing this story. Wonderful!! Also, I appreciated the book review on Killing Lincoln. I love history too, and this sounds like a good one.
Blessings,
Marcia

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing... I love that book by Elisabeth Elliot!

Homeschool on the Croft said...

What a wonderful story ... or should I say: 'What a wonderful God'! That's more accurate.
It is hard...very, very hard to keep praying when the answer seems to be No. Or worse, when we feel we're not even being heard :(
But at time, God's answer is, 'Not right now', and we have to wait - learning patience and faith. They are hard lessons to learn.
And sadly, I am a slow learner.
But gladly, He is a gracious God. x

Tammy ~ Country Girl at Home ~ said...

Good morning Kim,

This really was a wonderful post and I know it blessed many people! Thanks for linking up with Joy! I know you made her day too!

Blessings my friend and have a great weekend!
Tammy

Joy ~ Doodlebug ~ said...

This was so good! What an amazing story, and a great reminder that God always answers our prayers, even if it's not always in the way we want.

Thank you for participating in Faithful Fridays! :)

God bless you!
Joy :)

Debbie said...

a beautiful story kim!! you have a very strong faith, that brings you comfort. i am so happy for you!!

Empty Nester said...

I've always been told that God cares about every single detail of my life no matter how big or small. But I'm not sure I've always believed it. I was certain for YEARS that He just wasn't listening to me at all. Then I realized He was listening, just answering with a NO. Then I would tell myself that He said No because He was punishing me for so very many things I've done wrong in my life. I've always just figured He was too busy with other people and I had just done too many bad things. I don't know if I'll ever get that nasty little voice out of my head. Anyway, this was a great story and I'm so glad you shared!