When we pray for something and God says, ‘No,’ it can be bewildering at times. It can hurt - a lot. Particularly for people who tend to think of God as an ATM machine - stick your Christian card in and get whatever you want out.
But I’ve discovered over the past few years that God’s ‘no’s’ are actually blessings, much as they may not seem like it at the time. And it may take a long time for you to understand - you may never understand - but recognize that when you get a ‘no,’ that is actually God’s protection and provision. My own life is chock full of blessings that came as a direct result of God’s ‘no.’
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“Do not forget the good things the Lord has done for you...”
The writer of Hebrews puts a great emphasis on remembering what God has done. He practically goes through the entire history of Israel, urging his readers to learn from the mistakes of those people and not emulate their hardness of heart. “History repeats itself” is an old maxim, and I think the primary reason for this is that we do forget...we don’t remember, and it causes us to repeat the mistakes of past generations. Or, even worse, our memories are so short we repeat our own mistakes. But even worse than repeating our mistakes is when we forget the goodness of God. For those of you who haven’t heard the news, I just released my second book last week!
When you’re an author, there’s nothing more exciting than handing the book you’ve poured your heart and soul into to the general public. It’s terrifying, too, but that thrilling kind of terror that makes you almost giddy. At least, that’s me. From Faith to Faith is a story told from the perspective of a seventeen-year-old Fundamentalist Mormon girl named Lynlee. When her older half-sister more or less kidnaps young Lynlee in an attempt to escape from an abusive leader, Lynlee is stunned by the modern, 21st-century world. Finding herself in the home of her brother, who has become a Christian, Lynlee is faced with with a war of truth and lies. Whenever I go through my Spotify Wrapped playlist, I’m always surprised by a few songs that I listened to a lot earlier in the year but kind of forgot about as time went on. But then there are those songs that I carried with me, either for the whole year or discovered partway through the year and somehow have defined this past season.
I meant to have this post out a couple of weeks ago, but time got away with me and I wasn’t able to get it finished. So it’s coming in the first week of January, but oh well. It’s crazy to think I started Wings nearly two years ago. So much has changed in my life since that March day I finally launched the site. I didn’t really do this last year (it never really crossed my mind!), but this year has been a crazy one for me, and I thought I’d do a little post talking about what it’s been like for me.
It’s been a year of ‘firsts.’ It felt like every time I turned around, I was doing something new, crossing something else off my bucket list, or fulfilling a long-held dream. Some were big and required a lot of effort. Some were sweet and simple. Some were hard-bought. It’s been a while since I’ve stopped long enough to think about writing a post, let alone actually sit down and do it. I’ve been busy, but not in the way that most people would necessarily define ‘busy.’
In some ways, I’ve been busy resting. Busy spending time with family. And yes, busy at work, too, in the more traditional sense of the word. We’re in our year-end crunch at the moment, and I spend nearly every weekday up to my eyeballs in social media posts. That is not a complaint – in fact, I love it, and though I’m tired by the end of the day, I’m also invigorated. I love the Psalms - that book actually gets the designation of my favorite book of the Bible. It’s all good, of course, but there’s something about the emotional nature of the Psalms that I relate to particularly. Perhaps it’s that I’m an emotional person, myself.
Anyway, although I suggest you just go read all 150 Psalms (they’re all so rich), I thought I’d put together a list of my top 10 favorites...the ones I go back and read over and over again, I find myself praying through, or just grip my heart in a special way. I’ve gotten the privilege of traveling around the U.S. a lot. My first birthday was spent in New Mexico, my ninth in Utah, my eleventh somewhere in the U.S. - I’ve forgotten where - and my thirteenth driving across Kansas. I learned to walk in Utah and learned to talk in Montana. I’ve spent Christmas in Texas, California, Arizona, and Florida in various years growing up.
I’ve gotten to see natural wonders like Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Arches, and Mt. Reiner. I’ve climbed mountains, hiked along beaches lining the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans as well as the Gulf of Mexico, seen arches and natural bridges, waded in the longest rivers the continental U.S. has to offer, and stood on the edge of canyons so deep I could hardly see the bottom. I visited 48 states before I was a teenager (more than a decade later, I’m still waiting on my last two...) It occurred to me today that I started taking piano lessons fifteen years ago this past summer - meaning I’ve been playing piano for two-thirds of my lifetime (that’s quite a thought!) There are few things in life that have given me such joy, such creative expression, and such connection with my Creator.
Music is such a blessing - it helps us release emotions, express our hearts in ways simple words can’t, and transcends the bounds of culture, language, and creed. This week, I have more of an interesting testimony to share than a really 'teachy' post, but I think it's worth bringing attention to it because it highlights the real power of prayer.
Recently, my family and I were invited to visit the home of a family of another faith. I smelled burning incense the moment I walked through the door, but I didn't really think about why (plenty of people burn incense or candles to make their air smell nice). That is, I didn't think about it until I sat down on the far side of the room and realized I'd chosen a seat next to a shrine. |
Sarah GraceHi! I'm Sarah Grace, and I'm so glad you stopped by the Wings of Heaven blog! You can find short posts for easy reading or longer, more in-depth musings! I hope you're blessed! Archives
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