Blessings and Answered Prayers

THIS WEEK a series of good things happened that reminded me of God's goodness and His presence in my life, and I want to share several stories with you. They're all very different and probably small, but they are all really good and I had a fun time being there when they happened.

On Monday I was still in Alabama. A few hours before I was to tour Auburn University I visited a stained glass studio called GlassDesigns in Opelika. I love stained glass and I am considering it as a career, so it was exciting to visit Alice Chamblee and her son Douglas Chamblee, who make and replace stained glass windows of many shapes and sizes. But it was what happened after the visit that was very amazing.

When my mom tried to start the car to leave the studio, the engine would not start. The battery was quite dead. Five hours away from home and with a busy day of driving ahead, we had a big problem. But thanks to God we had gotten stuck in what was probably the most convenient place in Alabama to have a dead car battery. We were still in the driveway next to the studio, so Douglas Chamblee came to help us. When he tried to give our car a jump he discovered that the terminals were corroded. That meant he couldn't give the car a jump until they were cleaned off. So he went right across the street to the Advanced Auto Repair Store to get some terminal cleaner (he said he needed some anyway, but come on - that was too nice). While he was gone my mom recalled how her uncle used to say you could clean the corrosion with Coke.

We watched Mr. Chamblee's white truck move from the auto repair store to the gas station next to it. A few minutes later he returned with Coke to clean the terminals! The store was out of terminal cleaner. Amazingly, the soda worked. He gave the car a jump and it was ready to go. He wouldn't accept any money we tried to give him. It was refreshing to see that act of Christlikeness, of a person going out of his way to help someone unselfishly. I am reminded of the good Samaritan who spent his time and money to rescue someone who had been robbed and beaten on the street, after two others had just passed him by (Luke 10:30-37). That's how Jesus told us to be. If you're reading this, Mr. Chamblee, thank you again. We won't forget that.

Do you see what God did there? He made it so that when the battery died we were in the driveway of a very kind pair of people who own jumper cables, across the street from an auto repair store and a gas station with Coke. We could have been in the middle of nowhere, or somewhere dangerous. He answered my prayer as He had done so often before and as He continues to do. He also allowe my family and me to have a safe trip back to Jacksonville.

On Thursday I had a big presentation in history class about the American Home Front during World War Two. My partner, Cat White, and I were supposed to give this presentation for about an hour, and I was scared. I had never given a presentation like that before. So I kept praying that God would expand our words so that we could fill our time and have enough to say. And guess what? Our presentation was still going on when the bell rang for the end of class. We had spoken for over 45 minutes (taking turns) and were in the middle of playing a propaganda video that the class was really enjoying (they asked to see the end of it the next day). I thanked God and entered the next class celebrating with a big "YEAH!" that made my TOK instructor wonder why I was so excited.

Do you see how God helped us here? I didn't think I knew enough to speak about the Home Front for a long time. I had been praying and studying, a combination which I believe to be the best approach to difficult schoolwork. And now I can celebrate how God helped me and Cat by giving us enough to say and helping us not to be too nervous.

On Friday at the end of the school day I realized I was supposed to have turned in my NAHS dues to a Mrs. Heggood before the start of school. I was deeply troubled because I thought my dues were surely late and that I would probably be dismissed from the NAHS. My mom wrote a check for the dues when I got to the car, and I went back into the school to see if I could still pay.

I was praying that Mrs. Heggood would still be there and that it might not be too late. I thought about how small my problem was, since it was not life-threatening to me nor to anyone else. Still I asked God for His help, and immediately I felt a little better. I wasn't so scared anymore. Immediately when I entered the school building, who did I see? None other than Mrs. Heggodd herself. She did not have what she needed to collect the check at that time but she said to come give it to her on Monday morning. And so I will.

Do you see what God did here? He calmed my heart and made everything work out, as He has done so maany times. I can still turn in my dues on Monday. Now, it wouldn't have killed me or ruined my life if I were too late. I could survive without the NAHS. But God made this into an opportunity for me to see how He can answer prayers.

There are so many instances of God's guiding and blessing me and my family that I could tell you about. I saw a butterfly who had emerged from a cacoon that I had seen it make. There was a baby shower at my house for my aunt Tresha and her future baby Marco, due in mid-December. The cool October air blows on our faces every day lately, and there is a lovely tray of roasted pumkin seeds and rock salt in the kitchen at my house. Today I heard the story of a preacher from another country who has a rare, often fatal disease that causes paralysis. Pastor Russ interviewed him today at church, and although he was weak and his movements were not easy, he was moving and speaking. He has steadily started moving more and getting stronger. He has a big family that gets to have him around, where they could easily have lost him. God answered their prayers.

But what about the seemingly unanswered prayers? What about calamities, tragedies, and horrors? What about the times when it doesn't turn out like we prayed it would? On Sunday night, one week ago, my sister Isabelle was feeling really sick and I prayed for her to get better by morning. In the morning, she was not better. But now she is. That morning, when she was still sick, I read John 11 where Jesus allows Lazarus to be sick, even to die, before He comes so that He could demonstrate the greatness of God. Sometimes frustrations have to happen, whether to test our faith or to increase it, or both.

Indeed Jesus said (John 14:14) "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." But we must keep in mind that God knows what we don't know. He fills our lives with joy and simultaneously allows unpleasant things to happen to teach us to hang on to Him for dear life. He "sees over the fence," in the words of Laura Toney, my friend's mom. So let's thank Him for the amazing miracles He puts in our lives, and rest in the shelter He provides during the harder parts. He does answer prayer, as I have personally seen many times. Sometimes He will answer in ways we don't expect, like with a bottle of Coke and a kind stranger.

Philippians 4:6-7 "[6]Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; [7] and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."