The Power of Prayer

This was a post I drafted back in April 22, 2015. Charlie was not even a year old yet and we still lived in our old house on Brothers Ct, across the street from Rachie Taylor. But I just saw this in the draft section of our blogger site and was sad to realize it wasn't ever published in a blog book. The lessons and testimony from these experiences are important to me. So even though its 3.5 years late, i'm posting them now. :)

April 2015-
Story #1)
The boys were playing with a small L.E.D flashlight that Spenc let them use. It opened up and the small batteries fell out. The boys had no idea where the batteries could be. They hadn't noticed where they first came out. Because Charlie is crawling and putting things in his mouth, Spencer was very concerned that Charlie would find the batteries and swallow them. He said that could have fatal consequences! We immediately began searching all over the house. The boys said they were mostly on the gray shag rug, so they took their search there. After a long while, Perry said, "We should pray for help to find them." We had Perry say the prayer. Then less than 30secs after the "Amen", daddy found the batteries and we were all relieved & grateful. :)

Story #2)
One day, Perry was looking for his red Lightning McQueen water bottle. I hadn't seen it a long time, so had no idea where to start looking. Perry decided to say a prayer. After he finished, he stayed still and quiet for a minute. Then he looked at me and said, "God said it's in the car." He ran out to the van and came back with a huge smile, proudly raising his red Lighting McQueen water bottle in the air, he said "I'll say a prayer to thank Him now." And then he knelt down and did so.

Story #3)
One night I had gone out in my robe and big coat to pull the garbage can up to the side of the house, then tossed in a full bag of kitchen, bathroom, and diaper garbage. It was freezing out and starting to snow so I ran inside as soon as I was finished. When getting ready for bed I went to charge my phone, but realized I didn't remember where I'd put it.  Of course I had Spenc call so I can track it easily, but never heard it. I checked my purse, all the pockets of my sweaters/coats/robe/pants, I checked every room, every nook and cranny... no phone! I couldn't find it anywhere! I prayed for help to find it. I felt panicked because I used it as an alarm to get the boys on the bus. After praying I sat quietly waiting for the Spirit to direct me. One thought came to my mind: "Garbage". I thought that was weird, but I went and checked all the garbage cans and still no phone. So i prayed again. Same answer: "Garbage". I remembered I had taken the garbage can up and tossed in some bags of nasty garbage. So i went outside with rubber gloves, tipped the big green can on its side and pulled out all the trash. No phone. So I went through every bag of garbage, sifting through diapers and other ick! Still no phone. It had been snowing while I searched. I tossed the garbage back in and set the can back in its spot on the side of the house. I went to bed feeling frustrated and confused. It snowed a lot that night and a little the next day. A full day passed with no phone. The morning after that, Rachie stopped by saying she'd tried to call. I explained the whole story to her, even the answer to my prayer. A few minutes after she left, she came back to my door and said, "Come out here! I called your phone and I hear it ringing by your garbage can!" We went outside and she called it again. I could hear a faint ringing near the can too! But i couldn't see it anywhere. I moved the garbage can and the ringing got louder. We bent down and brushed away the snow. Then we could see the light from the screen under a sheet of ice! I was so happy! I carefully broke the ice and pulled my phone out. When I had pulled the can up from the curb the other night, i didn't notice my phone fall out of my pocket. Then when i tipped the can to sift through the garbage, the phone got covered in snow... but it STILL works!!! It was only at 3% battery and had Rachie not looked when she did, the phone would've died. I may not have found it for a month or so! I suddenly understood why the answer to my prayer was "Garbage".

I was very relieved to know that i didn't misunderstand the Spirit. Of course it would've been more convenient if the Spirit was more of a talker and said, "Go outside, turn right, move the green garbage can and you'll find it underneath lying on the ground, and go quick before it gets buried in snow...". Sure that would've been nice! But it's not usually how the Spirit guides. Most often the answer is just one word, like "Garbage". Maybe that means sometimes we'll find the phone sitting neatly and cleanly on top of the trash can. But i think most often in order to appreciate the miracle, the answer is still a simple one word "Garbage” and you have to do your part spending 2 days, getting smelly, and involving a friend until you finally discover your phone. It was also a way to experience a small miracle and testimony builder with dear Rachie. I'm so grateful Rachie has a helpful heart and went looking for my phone. I'm happy I got to share that experience with her. I think she probably needed it like I did. :)