Dear God, I just want to come to you this morning and thank you. I thought about going to look for a verse that could express what I’m feeling. Probably the closest would be a worshipful psalm of reorientation. One where David or someone else was really worried about something and then you answered the prayer in a completely unusual way. That’s how I feel this morning. I’m so grateful.

For the last few days…heck, if I really think about it, the last few months, I have had a stressor at work that has weighed on me. It started to come to a head this week. I prayed to you. My wife prayed about it. It was very heavy on my heart. And then, yesterday, you took a pin to the balloon of pressure that was building up in me and just pricked it. PFFFFFFFFFFFFF! The air went out. I was so relieved. It felt like 1,000 lbs. had been lifted off my shoulders. I found new energy for my work. In fact, I’m even up early this morning to go to work and get the day started. That’s how I’m feeling. I don’t think I even realized the extent to which this situation was weighing me down.

The neat thing is that you answered the prayer in one of those weird, unexpected ways. It kind of came out of the blue through a situation I didn’t expect. I even, to some extent, violated a personal code I have in how I talk about others or represent others in the workplace in a spur of the moment conversation because it felt like the thing to do at the time, and I think it was your Holy Spirit directing me because it seems to have made all the difference in the world. And then yesterday, you sent the sweetest couple to encourage me. They did it separately. The husband first and then a few hours later the wife. But it was so refreshing. After the husband talked to me, I called my wife and told her about the highlight of my week from that conversation with the husband. Then I was talking to his wife a few hours later and she gave me the same affirmations, but even more so because she told me how things had changed as a result of what you had done the day before. She revealed what you’re doing to me.

Finally, as my wife and I prayed together last night, thanking you for not only answering the prayer but for you doing it in a completely unique way, I started to pray about another seemingly immovable obstacle in our lives. A mountain that is bigger than I can ever imagine being moved. One that we have prayed about for going on 15 years now. And I started to cry because I know, I know that one day you will answer that prayer in a way that is going to blow my mind. I might not be alive on this side of heaven to see it. I’m not basing my faith on my own gratification in this life. I am simply trusting your timing, praying that your will is being done, and believing that you will, indeed, move this mountain. Yeah, as we prayed about the first thing, I just started to cry about the day I will be praying a similar prayer of worship and thanksgiving about this other thing.

Father, I suppose I should not only thank you again for what you did this week, but also go ahead and thank you for what you are doing in this other issue, even today. Thank you for even caring about my little life and these things that are so small to you but so big to me. I think about a small child whose toy breaks and they are devastated. To the adult it’s not big deal, but to the child it is everything. I still remember a time when I was eight years old and my parents were separated. My dad was living in a different town about 20 miles away, and he was going to run a 10K. My brother and sister and I were going to try to run it with him during one of our visitation weekends and he got us registered. I remember the packet with my t-shirt, number, and the safety pins to attach the number to my shirt. Somehow I lost the safety pins, and I was panicked. I still remember that fear of absolute panic. Now, as an adult, I know that safety pins are literally a dime a dozen and that was no big deal, but as a child I was devastated. I remember begging you in prayer that I would find them, and we didn’t even go to church at that point. But even though I never found them, I know if an adult had been there that day or I had admitted to the adult they safety pins were lost, they would have either helped me look or comforted me and explained that they will have a whole bowl full of safety pins at the event so there is nothing to fear. The problem would have been small to that adult. So small. Just like my human life here in my small town is not a significant part of the things you are contending with (war, crimes against humanity such as human trafficking, etc.), but you love me and you are interested in me. You are amazing, God. Thank you!

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen