Mews from Meowmix

Some time ago, there was a popular country song entitled, “Unanswered Prayers.”  There was a phrase that said, “Some of God’s greatest blessings are unanswered prayers.”

We pray believing He hears and answers, and that is so true.  And you know all the sayings.  Sometimes He says no.  Sometimes He says maybe but later.  Sometimes He answers right away.  Although they’ve come to sound like cliches’, I think these are true.  I have wondered where I’d be and what I’d be, who I’d be, and Whose I’d be today if God had answered some of my prayers in the affirmative that I prayed years ago.  But it’s not always easy to accept that His timing and His will is ALWAYS best, is it?  We think we can see clearly but, of course, we can’t.

Recently, a cousin of mine relayed a saying he’d heard a lot.  “You may be praying for apples when He’s trying to give you an orchard,” or something to that effect.  I read a story in a magazine this week that was along the same lines but was about a real family……..a farming family with 12-14 kids growing up in a Southern state in the 1930s.  The story was written by one of the daughters.

Her father, a hard-working black farmer, was deeply devoted to the Lord.  The family prayed together, holding hands every night.  It was in the days when mules were used for plowing.  One night, the mules “somehow mysteriously” got out of the barn.  They headed toward the railroad track (they were used to going that way to town).  They were  hit by a train and killed.

The strong, faithful father tried to stay positive and made every effort to replace the mules because they were vital to harvesting the crops.  But the whole family was very anxious, not knowing the outcome.  The father borrowed a team of mules from a neighbor for a couple of weeks, until he needed them back for his own harvesting.  The father, with a good reputation in the area, went to the bank and tried to borrow the money to buy more mules.  The answer was no.  Still, he prayed every  night, and the whole family prayed, for more mules.  If I’m remembering the story correctly, he also made a trip to someone in the county who sold mules and still could not get any credit.  It was about this time that his family saw him cry for the first time in their lives, and saw his shoulders bent in apparent defeat.  The next day, as a last resort, he walked into town to see the man who ran the general store.  The man extended credit to the farmers but it was known that he never loaned money.  Still, this hard-working farmer was willing to try, based on being known as an honest man.

The whole family waited anxiously and prayed while he was gone.  Finally, they saw him coming up the dirt road, and they looked for signs of what had transpired.  Was he smiling?  Was he holding his head up straight and looking the world in the eye?  As he came closer, they could see all of this was true.  He WAS smiling, so that must mean the store owner had relented and loaned him the money for mules!

When this father sat down to tell them what happened, it turned out the answer to his request had been, yet again,  NO.  The store owner did not lend money.  But what he did do was even better.  Through his connections, he was able to get his neighbor and patron, NOT mules, but………………….a TRACTOR financed!

As I re-think this story, I get a lump in my throat and I think again about my cousin’s saying.  And I am made to realize again, from this true story, that God’s timing and His will ARE always right and better for us than what we ask for.  This father of 12 or 14 kept praying for mules and kept hearing, “no,” but then God delivered a tractor.

Isn’t that a neat story? And isn’t God good……………even when we think His mouth is formed in a permanent O-shape from saying “no!”  Someone please remind me of this story the next time I feel like I’m not being heard and my prayers are not being answered.

TODAY’S SMILES:

1. Helping to clean the library at church and spending 2-1/2 hours with some good and funny folks.
2. An old-fashioned baloney, cheese, and tomato sandwich for supper.  Yum!
3. Last night’s moon and, I imagine, tonight’s moon, as well.
4. Pictures of Emmy on the motorcycle with her dad.
5. MORE baby bunnies.
6. Going to have that new baby in the family tomorrow.
7. A classmate advertising tickets to the Ford 150 pick-up to be given away at our hometown 4th of July picnic.  And he’s making the trip home to be there.  I’ve told you before, I think, that the 4th of July in Corning is as big, if not bigger, than Christmas!
8. Living in America and celebrating the 4th of July!!  Thank you to all who have served, and are yet serving.

I’ll see you Sunday evening.  Have a wonderful and safe 4th of July weekend.  May God bless and keep you.

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