So, this morning, I was riding in to work and heard a Mark Shultz song that for whatever reason, took me back to my days as a youth at Radnor Baptist Church.
I remembered a time in which, I was in the middle of a study group called Disciple Youth. As part of going through this very intensive study, we met one Saturday at the church for like a full day of prayer. It wasn't collective prayer, but we each chose a secluded room and had a list of stuff to pray for. There was nothing in this room except a couple folding chairs. We were far enough apart that we could pray out loud, cry, pray to ourselves, kneel, sit...you get the point...as my current pastor would say, it's not the outward expression your prayer takes.
As odd as it is, I remember very vividly my room. It was one of the smaller rooms off of the Joy Explosion room (another memory). There was a desk and several folding chairs lining the wall. To be honest, I don't remember alot of what I prayed for that day except I prayed for my sister, Cindy. Cindy had been missing from my life for some time and she was my "favorite sister" in childhood (i.e. she bought me the most gifts). I prayed that God would somehow bring her back because I'd missed her so much. After that, I remember telling my mom all the things I'd prayed for. And that probably would have been the last I thought of it. However, later that night, the "buzzer" rang (our makeshift doorbell) and I looked out and it was Cindy and Garth Brooks! Later, I found out, the big guy with the black cowboy hat wasn't Garth Brooks (much to my dismay!), but Les, her about to me and still today, husband. All I could think was that God had answered my prayer. And not only did this direct answer prove to me His power, but also most likely impacted my mother as well. I don't know if she ever told anyone that story...I need to check her diaries to see if she chronicled it there also, but I'm sure she did. It was a big day for us, in so many more ways than one.
I don't know what in that song made me remember this memory, but I'm glad I did. We all need to be reminded from time to time the power of prayer. Sometimes it is a direct answer just the way we asked for it and other times it is an answer, but nothing like what we expected. And then the hardest time is when the answer is either "No" or "wait"...because we, as humans, are instant gratification people. We want to tell God how we want Him to do it. Yet, when WE do it, it just gets all messed up. You'd think by now, we'd learn.
Well, that's my deep thought for the day. For those Radnor folks, I hope Disciple Youth and Joy Explosion take you on a trip down memory lane!
1 comment:
It's funny you should mention that about Radnor. Right after Kyle died I found all my yearbooks and was looking at my senior yearbook and Mike Headrick told me to look him up in 10 years from that date. Of course, I didn't do it. I went to college and lost touch but for days I thought about that time in life. strange.
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