Several weeks ago, my sister in law mentioned to me that she was unable to find a set of figurines that I had gotten for her several years ago. We both love the Willow Creek figures and this particular one depicted two girls holding their hands together, facing each other - as Traci and I often do when we see each other. I remember that when I saw it, I was totally drawn to it for that exact reason and when I saw that the title was "Sisters at Heart," getting it for her was a done deal. She has been my "sister at heart" for the last 20 years and I am so blessed because of that.
So when she told me that they had been lost and she had torn her house apart looking for them, I could not only hear the anguish in her voice, I FELT it myself. I KNEW how important those two little dolls are to her. I told her I would absolutely be praying for them to turn up for her, and soon.
We went to visit her and Sean and Hollie in Washington this past week and while we were there, both Lee and I also looked EVERYWHERE we could possibly think of to find them. Before we left home, though, I remembered my friend, Christy, and her awesome "Finding Prayer." Christy's dad is a pastor and she once shared with me how he would often pray over lost items using the scripture from Mark 4 and how those items would always turn up in odd and unexpected ways. After Christy told me a couple of those stories, I combed through Mark 4 and found the scripture and wrote down the prayer as close as I could remember her telling me. Several times now in the years since she shared those stories with me, I have pulled out that "Finding Prayer" and prayed it over a lost item and it has turned up in an unexpected way... sometimes right away and sometimes not but almost always in a way that you just can't quite reason out.
Anyway, I remembered the "Finding Prayer" before we left for Washington and did this little prayer doodle with it and took it to Traci:
The first night we were there, Lee and Traci and I all sat on her bed and I told her the story of Christy's "Finding Prayer" and the three of us prayed together, using the scripture from Mark 4. After that, I smiled at her and full of confidence in my Lord's power, I told her, "They're gonna turn up. Somehow, somewhere, at some time, they'll turn up." I kinda figured they'd turn up before we left.
They didn't. Lee and I kept looking for them the whole time we were there but never did unearth them. I admit that the day we left, I was getting ready and thinking, "God, is this going to be the one time You don't pull through? I KNOW I shouldn't 'test' You like this. But, God, YOU know how important those little girls are to Traci and I am going to trust that You will bring glory to Yourself in this somehow - whether they turn up or not, and whenever. I'm going to trust Your timing, even if I don't understand it." (I admit, though, that I was starting to feel a bit desperate.)
Lee and I and the boys returned home and quickly got caught up in our own insanity here at the Nut House. Traci and Sean and Hollie were also quickly swallowed up in their busy lives, too, and the hunt for those two little dolls returned to the back burner. But then this past Tuesday, I was struggling with another frustrating day with my challenging son and I found myself yet again silently crying out to God "do You even HEAR ME ANYMORE???? Have You forgotten us here and the prayers that we have sent up to You??? Where ARE YOU???" No sooner had I hung my head after sending that silent prayer up, than did my phone chirp at me, notifying me of a text message.
I opened up my messages and there was this picture and text from Traci:
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| Sisters at Heart |
"In the garage. I guess the first time we talked about moving (years ago) I started packing all my 'special stuff' and Hollie and I were just outside cleaning the Tahoe, she was playing with chalk and I started staring at all the boxes on the shelf my inner voice saying look thru the boxes and find stuff for the yard sale this weekend and I just had that nagging gut feeling that would not let me quit and voila! wow, God is great!"
God totally rocked the moment. Totally. He waited until the PERFECT moment - not just for her, but also for me. In a moment when I desperately needed to be reminded that He really does hear our prayers and that His timing is always best, He sent me a gentle reminder through the answered prayer for someone I love (something He seems to do a lot). How can I not trust Him and His timing when I am reminded that His perspective is eternal and all encompassing? Yeah, I guess He really does know better than I do.
Thank God. :)
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