God's Grace

As I continue moving forward in my journey of faith, God and the power of prayer has truly amazed me on a daily basis. After my experiences the past month, I have no doubt that God does answer prayers. This seriously struck me Sunday evening at work and moved me to tears.  I have a prayer list that basically stays the same every day and I would like to share some of them with you.

I pray for the health and safety of my boys, David, my mom and dad and all of our family and friends.  I pray for the Holy Spirit to fill those that I love to lead them on the right path towards God and His amazing gifts.  I pray for patience in dealing with my children and husband.  My prayers have a tendency to be more about thanksgiving but lately I've started specifically asking for things.

Several weeks ago, I decided to take boys to mass for the first time by myself.  Our neighbors have a 7 year old, named Amber, who loves the boys and Amber's parents, graciously saved us seats so we could sit with her.  The evening before and that morning I prayed specifically for God to fill my children with a peaceful and quiet spirit.  I prayed those same words over and over again all morning prior to mass and on our way.  Guess what?  The boys were angels.  They went with Amber to children's liturgy and when they returned, sat quietly in the pews while eating their snacks.  It was a very pleasant experience. There really is no other explanation for the stillness exhibited my perpetually moving, loud three year old little boys. God, did indeed answer my prayers that morning.

I also pray before work.  I pray specifically that God help me to curb my tendency to be gossip-y and sometimes, mean spirited.  I pray that God helps me to achieve my financial goals for the evening.  Sunday, in the middle of my shift, He spoke to me loud and clear.

A group of six people sat down.  They were a hodge podge group and when I greeted them, I had a feeling of dread.  I judged them immediately and thought: no way is this group of people going to tip 20%, no way.  When I started taking orders, the first person asked an interesting question about the lasagna.  I had some not-too-nice thoughts and moved through the rest of the group.  As I continued speaking to these people while taking their dinner orders, I realized that they were all special needs folks.  They were also clearly out for a special occasion.  After walking away from the table, I made the conscious decision to not share the story about the somewhat silly question that had been asked of me regarding the lasagna with my co-workers.  I put all negative thoughts out of my head and made sure this group had amazing service.  I had a great time talking with them and they were all so polite and truly had hearts of gold.  I presented their check and thanked them for dining with us.

After they had left, I checked the credit card receipt and immediately, tears sprung to my eyes.  The lady left a $40 tip on a $130 bill.  20% would have been $26.  I knew right then, that God had answered my prayers and taught me a very valuable lesson in my quest to live a more Christ like life.  I gave Him thanks immediately and now feel compelled to share this story with you.

God isn't just there for the big things in your life.  He is there for all the small things too.  Whatever your needs may be, ask.  You will likely be surprised.

Love and peace,

~Andrea