Answered prayers

As I was falling asleep last night it hit me again how lucky I am.  But it’s more than luck or coincidence.  I know the song and movie about unanswered prayers, and I’ve written about that kind of thing.  But I feel like so much of my life is a series of answered prayers, whether or not I even thought to ask. 

As a young teenager I’d hope and dream of a happy family life, a dedicated husband, five or six kids, a house, a family that would go to church together and embrace it.  Lots of people do.  For some reason, that was a prayer I was granted.  I’m not sure why me and why not others; but because I longed for this kind of security and happiness for so many years from such a young age, I can’t help but be thankful.  This blessing has surpassed any hopes young Caren had.

I didn’t know I wasn’t the only mom who secretly hoped for twins with her last pregnancy.  I always thought that was just me.  Until I started hearing it from my friends.  Our reason being we wanted our last child to have a friend and not end up alone the last couple years at home, a little two-for-one deal.  Same reasoning for most of my mom friends.  A little let-down when I found out I was only have a singlet with my last pregnancy.  And yet Callum and Bronwyn are as close as any twins I’ve seen; they were just born 21 months—rather than minutes—apart.  When he was just a toddler I’d find them both in her crib, both sucking their thumbs, curled up together.  That’s gone on for years.  Even at nearly 9 and 11, they like to have weekend “sleepovers” in one another’s “passenger beds” (each having a spare mattress in the room).  Each is a little restless without the other.  To me, it’s a dream come true.  And an answered prayer.

A few weeks back I was feeling at loose ends, not knowing who I could help, who needed something, what purpose I had, if I was doing anything useful with my days.  I prayed to know how I could spend my time better.  I felt intensely blessed when opportunities presented themselves within days of each other.

There are so many more example of times when answers came before I even thought to ask.  Maybe to you they’re coincidences, luck, just the way things go.  But not to me.  The more I take note, the more I notice what’s been going on.

I was granted the perfect roommate.  I wouldn’t even have known what I needed at 18.  And I certainly wouldn’t have thought to pray about a future roommate.  But again, I was given just what I needed.  She was from a small town in Idaho, I was from San Diego.  She liked twangy country music, I liked alternative.  She slept late, I went to bed early.  Guys loved her, I had a boyfriend back home.  She was carefree and spirited, I was rigid and shy.  We were as opposite as roommates get, and yet He knew she would change my life and that I needed her influence more than anything else at that junction in my early years.  Truly a God-send.

My van was paralyzed a couple of weeks ago.  Not even a new battery changed that.  (Don’t you hate it when you buy something new only to discover that was never the problem in the first place?)  But what a blessing, because it was on my driveway and not in a scary downtown alley.  In fact, I’ve never been stranded anywhere alone; our vehicles have always had issues when I’ve been at home or with Todd or a friend, never on the side of a freeway alone or late at night in an unfamiliar part of town.  I’m so grateful for that.  I feel heard, an answer to an everyday prayer to keep me safe. 

Last year Andrew was competing at state two hours away.  I thought about taking the little kids, but I knew it’d be a long, boring day for them.  Todd was at work as usual.  I’d rather have company, but what a dreadful thing to request from someone.  When out of the blue a good friend called, told me the idea just came to her, she offered to drive with me.  What an unexpected blessing.  An answer to a prayer I didn’t even think was worth praying about.  It turned out to be a perfect time for us to talk for all those hours, to spend a great day together, and for her to remember days gone by when her son was racing.  I felt so noticed and warmed by a simple offer.  By both her and a loving Father.

We were pregnant with our third baby when we moved into our first, yet most unpresumptuous, house.  We felt it was the perfect home for us, although we hated the way it looked on the outside, as well as a lot of the inside.  But we soon realized why we’d felt to buy it.  Within a few short years we ended up with five kids.  No family closer than 600 miles.  Todd was busy with church and work.  We met a couple one block away who became grandparents to the kids and like another set of parents to me.  They’d help with my babies at church.  She’d come and sit with a sleeping baby while I picked up kids from school.  She’d do a load of dishes, fold some laundry, rock a fussy baby, clean up where she could.  She was heaven-sent, an angel.  The kids are just as close to them as they are to their other grandparents.  I never even thought to pray for something like this, it never occurred to me that I could be so richly blessed.  Without even asking.

I could write an entire blog about prayers that have been answered, both those I petitioned Him about and those I never even thought about.  I know He is close, so close.  He guides me, answers me, and absolutely knows what I need even before I do.  I know this has a slant, it’s not the way everyone sees it.  But to me it’s just the way it’s always been, whether I noticed it or not.