Friends,
Last week, Tuesday was a day like any other summer day in the world of "Parenting at the Biegner's." Drew and Lauren were having their typical highs and lows like any other brother and sister would do. Summer off from school has amped up the experience a little bit though and the extremes of both playing together and arguing with one another are just that...more extreme.
On Tuesday afternoon as Lauren melted down from a small disagreement to full blown tantrum, I sent her off to her room to diffuse the situation, as we usually would. Recently, she has been struggling to "stop the slide" when her behavior and attitude go south and it often ends up with some room time. She has been working on it, but she's clearly only at Step #1: identifying the problem.
Her window looks out over the back patio, which is where I was cleaning outside for a meeting at my house later in the evening. As I prepped below, I looked up to see her pathetic face pressed up against the glass with the window opened just a crack, as if she was gasping for what little fresh air she could glean. Then the conversation went something like this:
Lu: I'm sorry Daddy. (sad pathetic voice)
Steve: I know ya are sweetie, but there are still consequences to your actions so you have to stay in your room for awhile.
Lu: But Daddy, I've been praying for help with this. (voice now a little more desperate)
Steve: I know Lu, that's good. Now just quiet down and reflect up there please.
Lu: (now full blown angry at the world, screaming voice) Well this just shows God doesn't answer prayers!!! Because I've been praying for help with this for hours and days and weeks!!!!! Agrrr! (Hurling herself away from the window, crying on the bed)
Drew: (walking onto the patio after hearing the outburst) Wow, quite a drama queen, don't you think Dad?
Steve; No comment son.
It was an interesting dialog which reminded me a couple things: (1) Michelle's daughter is a drama queen and Steve's son is very perceptive and (2) sometimes prayers are answered in a different timing then we'd like.
O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge on the day of trouble. Jeremiah 16:19
Jeremiah knew that God was present with him. He celebrated it, wrote about it, proclaimed it. But that doesn't mean that life was perfect or easy or everything matched up with the way he had it planned out.
After a few more minutes, I went up and talked to a now calmed Sybil....I mean Lauren....and explained to her that God's timing is tricky, but that those answers to prayer often come through our changes in behaviors and actions. And that we rarely see God just snap the ol' fingers and everything gets fixed. She smiled. We came up with a plan. We hugged and laughed at her spazticness. We grew.
God does answer prayers. But it is in God's time...not ours. And when life gets rough, it's not that God hasn't answered or that the stronghold and strength are gone. It usually means we've been distracted by other things and lost our eyes of faith to see it.
I hope that you had a wonderful long, family and friend full, party, pool and relaxation centered holiday weekend. I hope and pray that every minute was a blessing for you. But if you didn't...if it wasn't...if an hour..a day...or a week was not all you hoped for and it was maybe even filled with pain and hurt...please know that God's strength and stronghold is still there. God is STILL answering your prayers. Give it time. Look with eyes of faith. Step away for a bit to stop the slide. And allow your family of faith to nurture you through it.
Lord, thanks for your patience with our expectations. Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
