“Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly,”
IS a quote you might hear often in the rooms of AA Meetings. It is a reference to the developing life of someone who is in recovery, learning to live a new life as a clean and sober person.
But, another area I think of it in reference to, is God’s answering our prayers. Sometimes He in His Sovereignty chooses to answer our prayers in ways that sometimes seem quick and often seem very slow. And then there are of course the answers that appear to be “no.” Those hard things that seem so wrong in our eyes, that in God’s reality are so right.
These we may need to accept as God’s best will for our lives. We may not like these no’s or even the “not yet” or “wait” answers. But knowing we have a higher power who only has our best interests in mind, is very helpful to me.
- Yesterday was a wonderful example of God’s answering very quickly.
It was towards the end of our day at our annual Fourth of July Family ‘Breakfast on the Beach’ gathering.
My daughter Sarah realizing she was no longer seeing her daughter Josephine playing in the sand pit, (where she’d been seen most of the morning), began asking all of us, if we knew where she was.
It quickly became clear that Jo was nowhere close and was truly missing!
Next as if from the starting gate of an Olympic Game, we all dashed off in different directions to scour the beach to search for our sweet toe-headed baby girl.
Staying put at our camp and keeping a watchful eye on my other 5 grandkiddos, the very first thought I had, was to begin a very serious conversation with God.
“Ok God, where is Jo? Dear God, where’d she go?!?!?! The water? Dear God NO, not the water!!!”
My mind spinning, I decided that she wasn’t in the water. Being buried in the sand or playing in a sand hole had been the major focus of her day.
“So where did she go Lord?” I thought, as I continued my questions to God.
In my panicked state I stepped up the discussion. “OK GOD, this is unacceptable that we lose her!!! You MUST let us find her. Come on God, show us where she is,” I prayed earnestly stamping my bare and hot feet.
“Please God, I pleaded, let them find her NOW!”
You see I was quite insistent on a deeper level as well because of what is going on lately in regards to my daughter and her family.
Sarah is pregnant with her 4th child, Amelia who is struggling fighting her own battle with a benign tumor that is vying for space in her tiny body between her heart and her left lung.
Not to mention that Jo’s daddy, Derek had just returned from being treated by the lifeguards for a Sting Ray bite he’d gotten while swimming that day!
So suffice it to say, I for one (and I’m sure the rest of the family as well) was being very demanding of God at that moment.
As I kept an eagle eye on my other 5 precious kiddos I practically yelled at God verbally, that she be found NOW!!!
“Find her now,” I prayed over and over and over.
Just then word started to spread from down the beach back to my anxious ears. I heard people I didn’t know that were passing by saying, “they found her, they found her!”
Next I saw Jeanine, my daughter-in-love’s mother, with obvious tears streaming down her cheeks coming towards me, saying the very same thing!
You can imagine my relief, as I heard her tell me that Michael, my son had found her, many umbrellas down the beach. She was there sitting contentedly playing with a little boy and his sand toys.
Being scooped up into his loving uncle’s arms, she never realized she was even lost, until her very grateful daddy gently explained how scared she’d caused us to be, and that she must never wander away like that again.
As we came back together we all seemed to say the same thing. “Time to pack up and go home!”
The time that had passed seemed like an eternity to us all. When in reality it had only been maybe 5 minutes or so. Looking at it today, it was an answer that came very quickly. I praise God in this reflective time and will always give Him the glory for this, yes answer!”
- Aren’t we all at times like Josephine?
So into our own little hole in the world, whether we are at play, work, wherever or whatever? We sit in our selected spot in the sand isolated in our individuality doing our own thing, being content we think? Then before we realize what is happening to us, we are lost!
- Sometimes we are lost in our stubborn selfishness thinking our decisions in life are right and we choose to stay close-minded
- Maybe we’re lost in obsession or addiction to something outside ourselves that we are allowing to have control over our better intentions.
- Sometimes we are almost literally lost, not knowing the person staring back at us as we gaze into our morning mirrors
- Maybe there are some of you who’ve lost your way and wandered from your family in search for your independence and desire to ‘find yourself.’
- Or maybe you’ve wandered and have become estranged from your husband or wife and would desperately love to reconcile!
The God I know sees you in whatever sand pit you are in and wants nothing more than to take your hand and help you out of that hole.
My God is in the business of seeking and saving the lost. No matter the trench you’ve found yourself in, He wants to take you into His loving Daddy arms, and carry you to the safety of a relationship with Him where you too can have deep and honest conversations about those holes and pits in your life.
Sometimes we are so lost that we can’t find our way back on our own. Sometimes we are so lost that we don’t even know we are lost, just like Jo was, but that’s ok
You can have that place with God where He’ll always answer your prayers. A content spot with Him where he’ll keep you safe, teaching and guiding you through the shifting sand and rising tides of life.
There’s another great quote I love that says:
“I can’t, God can, so I think I’ll let Him.”
As Josephine’s daddy was eagerly waiting for her to be in his arms again, our loving God and Father awaits your return!
So won’t you let Him rescue you today? It’s a great day to be saved!
AND once again, thank you Jesus; it IS VERY, VERY WELL with my soul!
