God Answers “Sheepish” Prayers
God answers “sheepish” prayers. You know, those ones you say underneath your breath, afraid for anyone to hear.
I know because he did it for me.
2 1/2 yrs ago, in May 2020, when all our calendars were instantly wiped clean during the lockdown, we found ourselves in the unexpected place of having time in our life.
For a minute, it felt kind of like having a “snow day” where you’re chugging along barely able to catch your breath when Mother Nature mercifully cancels everything; opening your life to a much needed time-out.
In the fear and uncertainty of the pandemic , we all know it was anything but a gleeful day snuggled at home in front of the cracking fireplace with hot cookies coming out of the oven.
Yet, somehow, as we all adjusted we looked for what we could control. Suddenly at home with the gift of time, we reached for our notepads; creating our pandemic “bucket lists”; committing to use this gray time to make lemonade out of lemons and come out with good to show for it.
Grabbing my pen; I jotted down 10-20 ideas …
… learn web design, computer programs, Canva, work on upcoming retreats, learn new recipes … Thinking I was done , I paused; to see if there might be anything else before I deemed the list complete.
One more thing drifted shyly into my mind. This one was buried deep. I was afraid to even put it on the list, it had been with me so long. And I prayed this sheepish prayer, “Oh yeah, Lord, if you can do anything with this desire of mine to write, that would be great . ”
I’ve never seen a mustard seed but I bet my faith was that small.
If someone would have asked me to read my list aloud, when I got to that last one I would have lowered my pad and let my voice trail off into the distance.
It’d been with me since college and I was sure everyone; my family, friends and even God, was sick of hearing about it. I knew I was. Sad to be still wondering, hoping, dreaming.
Well, “That is that.”
Putting down my list, I opened my email. There in my inbox was an offer to “brighten the world” during this dark, scary time. Hope Writers, offering 5 days of free teaching. The first inconspicuous answer to my prayer to become a writer!
“No?!””
I still remember the exact place I was. There, in our lower level family room with gray blue walls, gray carpeting and a black desk in front of the window. God provided the first step.
That led to more steps, training, first articles, posts and a weekly newsletter. And in December 2020, heading towards New Years wanting to walk with a Spiritual Giant again, the idea for my book was born, out of nowhere (aka, from God ) , in my heart.
So, let’s pray our “sheepish” prayers; cause it may be God stirring those deep down desires that only he sees and has been waiting for the perfect time to answer.
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Is there a desire deep down inside that feels that way to you?