My
first memory of prayer happened when I was a small little girl. I loved
playing Barbies and I loved a certain pair of Barbie shoes. They were white with a little lace looking
circle on the top. They were essential for weddings and weddings are vital in
the Barbie world. I looked all over for
them but couldn’t locate my favorite pair of shoes. I remembered learning of prayer and knew I
could ask God if I needed help. And who
needed help more than me? So, I knelt
and asked Heavenly Father to help me find them. Sure enough, I remembered where
they were and found the shoes quickly.
It was a miracle and I knew Heavenly Father loved me and cared about a
little girl’s troubles. As I grew, I always remember this occasion. As I matured and realized how small and
insignificant Barbie shoes really were, I realized that surely, He would help
me with more important things when I need them.
I
have a wonderful mother that has shown me the true way to pray. She is so sincere and deliberate in the way
she prays. Never repetitive, and always
pensive about the words she says. As she
prays it’s almost like I can feel what a privilege she thinks it is to be able
to speak to the creator of worlds without ends. I would often go to her room to
seek her out and find her kneeling by her bed in prayer. What a wonderful
example she has been of praying to me.
Through
the years I would pour out my troubles to me Father in heaven because I
believed he was just that, my Father. My earthly father is such a good man. If my
earthly father loved me as much as he did and was willing to talk to me about anything
that I needed, I knew that my Father in heaven must be even more loving. I remember going to Him again in prayer after
I graduated high school and my life seemed to be miss aligned with Gods will
for me. My choices had led me to a place
that I knew I should be spiritually and possibly the wrong place physically. I remember asking Him for help during this
time. One morning I woke up and knew
instantly, almost as if a voice spoke it to me, where He wanted me to be. That place was SUU. I went. I met the man that He intended for me to marry and have the
life I have today, which by the way, is a wonderful life.
The
next generation has come into my home and because I had that experience with a
Barbie shoe, I have been able to teach them what prayer can do. Jaron had lost a small stuffed animal that
was important to him. He was 8 years old
at the time. I suggested that he do as I
did and pray to find his small stuffed animal.
He did and found it right away, just as I had found my Barbie shoe more
than 20 years earlier.
The
power of prayer is real. When we open
the door to our God, he will communicate with us. He hears all our prayers,
even the ones about Barbie shoes. What
he says back to us might not be what we want to hear, but he always has our
best interest in mind. Sometimes I feel
like I am a small child throwing a tantrum because I didn’t get my way. I just
don’t see what God sees. He knows what
is best for me. I am still learning to trust
Him to guide me to where he wants me to be.
Through this historical time in the world with the COVID-19 pandemic, so
much is uncertain and doesn’t seem to be as it should be. But I have faith that God has a plan for all
of us, we will all be stronger trees once this wind stops blowing if we let God
be in control.
