i’m holding Him to it

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6

This afternoon the kids and I were in the car for a looooong afternoon of running errands.  Usually one store is all I can handle with both of them.  They are good kids–great kids, really–but loading them into the car, unloading them, running into a store with them through the freezing cold, dealing with coats and carts and questions and inane banter gets to me and usually one store is all I can handle before my brain is overloaded.  But this afternoon we had to buy Christmas gifts for two kids we adopted through MOPS, buy craft supplies for tomorrow’s MOPS meeting, drop off some things at Goodwill, make a deposit at the bank and buy stuff for dinner.  The outlook was so bothersome that I drove down the road, grumpy, while the kids happily chattered in the backseat.  That’s really not the way for a grown woman to behave.

I know that because I follow God He gives me the desires of my heart, and one of the greatest desires of my heart is to be a joyful mother.  So I hesitantly approached Him in prayer.  I mean, what would it hurt?  He knows what I’m going to say before I say it, so He knew where my prayer was going.  My prayer went something like “Um, God, I know that I can come to you with any problem, and Lord, right now I just want to enjoy my kids, to be Your light to them and to not always be grumpy with them.  Amen.”  Practically before my prayer was finished, G said something hilarious that made me laugh out loud.  And then I realized: He had already changed my heart.  ALREADY.  No waiting.  I know not every prayer will be answered right away, in the way I want it to be, but this afternoon He showed me how quickly He is willing to pour out His blessings on those who call on His name.  He is a good God.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21