Monday, April 27, 2009

Whatever It Takes

Have you ever prayed ~ Whatever it takes Lord, just bring that person to you. To my shame, I’ve never had the courage or even the faith to pray that..... before now. About 2 months ago ~ in desperation ~ I begged God to bring one of my family members back to Him ~ whatever it takes. That was so tremendously hard to do. I had fought doing that for so many years. If you are a momma ~ you can likely imagine my greatest fear in praying such a prayer ~ yes, that’s right ~ the loss of a child. And yet it wasn’t until about two months ago when I had reached the end of my rope that I finally begged God to do whatever it would take to bring this person to Him.

It wasn’t until a month later that I realized that two other people had prayed the very same prayer about this person. I can thankfully report that all of my children are very alive and well at the moment. It appears that God was not going to choose my greatest fear to accomplish His will after all ~ at least it appears that way. And yet I find myself walking in the darkest of valleys. I actually thought it was pretty dark before but I am here to testify that things can get darker than we had even fathomed. I know my Lord is with me - walking each step that I walk. Oh how I have claimed Psalm 23 in its entirety -Lo I walk through the valley of the shadow of death ~ I will fear no evil~ thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Balm for my soul indeed.

This "whatever it takes" prayer is bringing many changes to my life and the lives of my family. I will after 24 years re-enter the work force ~thank you Lord that I have my teaching certificate to fall back on; I will discontinue home schooling ~ after fifteen blessed years ~ and that is such a heart break because only three more years were needed before graduating our youngest daughter; I will relocate to my hometown that I have not lived in for over 30 years.

I must confess that I would never ~in a million years ~ have suspected that these changes would be connected to my prayer of "whatever it takes." It is so many changes to handle simultaneously and they aren’t changes I would have chosen but I must keep my eyes on the Lord and off the circumstances and know that God will work all of this to good. He will be victorious. He is doing whatever it takes to bring this person back to Him. I’ve had to remind myself of that a whole lot lately. So dear friends, keep me and my family in your prayers. God can do the impossible ~ but hearts have to be open and willing. May this heart I speak of get to the point of being open and willing.

11 Thoughts On The Matter:

tascha said...

I will pray for you..... I have not had the courage to utter those words in prayer; but God is working on my heart.....

Grace on the Narrow Path said...

Cathryn,
You can count on me dear friend to lift you and your family up to the Lord in prayer. It may not be easy at first, but GOD is with you every step of the way! Where is your hometown? If I can help in any way, please let me know. God bless you my friend.
Hugs,
Bren

Deborah said...

Oh Cathryn, the Lord has brought you through so much these past months. I'm so thankful that he brought me across your blog at such a time. Your reliance on the Lord through all of these trials has been an inspiration to me. I know you probably don't see it that way, and I'm sure in your private times you haven't always felt that way, but it comes through in your writing....the way you always direct us to look to the Lord.
Just keep your eyes on HIM and he will bring you through this valley too. And know that you have friends praying for you and your family.

Shane and Kristy Davis said...

Praying for you right now!
May the Lord be near to you:)

IF said...

Praying for you... Stand strong
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble

Abounding Treasures said...

Dear Cathryn,

Praying for you and your family in the midst of these new developments.

Your dependance on our Lord Jesus and your reminder to each of us to keep Him as our focus during all the circumstances that we face in life, has been an encouragement and inspiration to me!

Blessings to you, dear sister in the Lord !!

TO BECOME said...

Dear Cathryn, I am praying for you and your family. I have been at such a place in my life with one of my children and I did pray that prayer. I am here to say along with you that things did get worse but today they could not be better. So trust and keep believing. love you, connie

Cindy said...

Cathryn,

I will be praying for you and your family.

Cindy

Anonymous said...

Hi Cathy,
I haven't been in blog world for several months. You're moving?! Although I haven't had contact with you in months, you have been in my prayers. You'll always be in my heart as a dear sister and friend who welcomed me into the KY home school community. I'll be forever grateful to you for that. My prayers won't stop for you. Love you...
Nora Cardona

Karin said...

Yes, God can do the impossible! You're in my thoughts and prayers. All the best with all the changes!!

susansspace said...

Cathryn,
My prayers are with you as you make these life changing decisions. I've not been in a situation like this, & can't begin to say I know what you must be going through, but I do know that we serve a Sovereign Lord who sees the whole picture. May He give you the strength, courage and confidence you need.
Romans 8:28 doesn't say that all things that happen to us are good, but we can know 'that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.'