The Ring

Over the years, my husband Paul has given me many flowers on any day in the year. On my 60th birthday though he gave me a ring composed of a gold band with six petite embedded diamonds, one for each decade. After returning home from a mountain trip last year, I realized the birthday ring had gone missing from my finger!

Thinking that it slipped from my finger via water, Paul and I teamed up to loosen the plumbing under three sinks here at home. Wrench in hand and laying on the floor, he loosened the pipes under the sinks, while I sat in a chair holding a flashlight. And you understand who did the work.

Three sinks later, we had no success. Paul, a very persistent man who often morphs into a knight in shining armor said a prayer: "Lord, please show me exactly where that ring is. If You do, I will give you every bit of the glory." A thought then occurred to him to look under our bed and investigate the recently used suitcases stored there.  Of course, my mind was already made up that the ring slipped off into a drain so I was not hopeful at all. 

Persistent Paul slipped a quarter of the way under the bed shining a flashlight into each corner. Lo and behold, in a rather odd place partially hidden under a decorative box, the slightly visible ring shone in the glare of the flashlight! He wiggled out from under our king-sized bed shouting, "God is good!" As you can imagine, I was laughing and jumping for joy. And now I want to give the Lord glory by sharing the tiny miracle with you. 

Of course, we all hope that EVERY prayer would result in miracles or at the least produce the answer we long for. Many prayers seem to go unanswered. Heaven's silence can indeed be deafening. Our timetable doesn’t coincide with God’s timetable. We experience frustration, anger, and often despair. Although we realize our finite minds cannot comprehend the infinite mind of God, it’s painful to pray repeatedly and either hear nothing or hear what we don’t want to hear.

Hebrews 11:13 provides a reality check that some in scripture faced. …” All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.” Yet, in Luke 8:50, Jesus answered Jairus’ prayers for his daughter right away saying, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” Yet another verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 challenges us, “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

I surely don’t pretend to understand the mind of our Heavenly Father. My experience tells me though that during seasons of unanswered prayers, looking for the tiny glimmers of joy gives me a glimpse of hope as I traverse through life's small problems and enormous tragedies.  I hope this glimpse into Paul’s answered prayer will encourage you today.

 #LookForGlimmersofJoy