Friday, May 30, 2014

By: Rebecca Landry

Excuse me, I don't think this is what I ordered.....

Have you ever prayed for something for so long that you just felt like God just forgot about you? For my family it's always been finances.

Being able to stay home with my babies is very important to me and since my husband isn't a world famous neurosurgeon or at least someone who plays one on TV ... supporting a family of four on one income has been a challenge.

Around the time my first little boy was turning one, I decided to try my hand at cake decorating. At that time I didn't know there was a difference between butter and margarine. Disaster story shortened: they are not the same!

Fast forward to about 3 years later when my husband was let go from his job. I was panicked to say the least. During the two months that he was out of work, he had offers for odd jobs, and I had cake customers coming out of what seemed like nowhere.

God was taking care of us. Bills were getting paid. No --- money did not rain down from the sky --- BUT He provided us with so many OPPORTUNITIES to earn income. I never thought when I dabbled in cake decorating all that time ago that it would one day be the thing that kept our family from going under during that rough patch.

I learned during that time that although what I had in mind when I prayed was for my husband to find a job that made tons of money ... that's NOT the package our answer arrived in. At first glance, it could have looked like God wasn't hearing me, wasn't answering, or didn't care. But, no, that's NEVER the case.

God gave me a gift, an interest and a talent that He knew would have a purpose that I never imagined. I could have spent my time feeling bitter that my box of cash wrapped in cash giftwrap didn't arrive at my front door, but I know my God is faithful and ALWAYS provides ... even if it's not wrapped exactly how I'd imagined it.

I challenge you to look at your situation from a different angle and maybe see a blessing that you may not have recognized before.

Father, thank you for hearing my prayers. I'm so grateful that You know so much better than I do. Help me to be open to the path that You have for me even when it's different than what I imagine for myself.

Thank you Jesus for dying for me. I believe that You are Lord and God raised You from the dead so I can have eternal life.

Reflection: Is there something you've been praying for that is being answered in a way other than how you expected?