Answered prayers

 There's this kinda charming Christian platitude: "God always hears you, and always answers prayers". I have to admit, that gets on my nerves. Often I want to say "NO HE DOESN'T"  I can think of 2 very specific times I had very specific and (to me) SUPER IMPORTANT prayers I wanted answered in very specific ways. 

Heal my husband(s). 

Twice I've had a husband lying in a hospital bed, and having been told my doctors that, barring a miracle from God, they weren't going to survive, I prayed for the miracle. Oh how I prayed. Lots of other people did as well. There were huge and loud amounts of prayer flinging up toward God's Will, asking for Him to give us those miracles.

And God answered. I thought He said "NO". It sure looked like a big NO to me. I thought healing meant those men would wake up and return to life as I knew it. 

God didn't say NO. God healed them in ways I can't even imagine. He released them from the constant aggravation of being human and flawed and living in a world rife with frustration and pain. God gave a resounding and eternal YES to them. He did indeed answer those huge and loud prayers in ways beyond comprehension.

This is the confidence we having in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us- whatever we ask- we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5: 14-15

And the interesting thing is, as their souls left their bodies (I admit I still resent the plurality of that.) I recognized they were healed and was able to thank Him for that. I miss them, I ache for their presences, but I know they're healed and whole, and that's far better than anything I could give them here.

God has given me giant YES's before, of the sort that are undeniably directly from Him. He healed my son, who was supposed to be so badly brain damaged he'd never speak, walk, or get out of bed. Now he's a heavy equipment mechanic, repairing bulldozers and cranes. He said YES, when I said I was lonely and wanted a new love, and dropped Capt into my life. He healed my other sons, came into their lives, and now they are infused with the Holy Spirit and living lives of service to Him. He has provided amply for one who I feared would be homeless. So many answered prayers, so specifically answered and far more generously than I prayed for. I hold onto those answers, to remind me that God provides lovingly and enthusiastically, and in ways beyond my imagination. 

I tell my sons often (particularly when they're seeking a relationship) to remember that true love means you want what's best for that person, even if it isn't you. God truly loves, and provides what's best for His children, even if that provision isn't what I want it to be, because He knows what's best for them. He knew that the best thing for Himself and Capt was to be released from the chains of this world, and most of the time I'm ok with that. Delighted for them, even. (most of the time).