POWER and Prayer

My Grins may be small but his faith far exceeds his size! He is always the first to suggest that we pray (when lost, when something is missing, etc.) It brings me so much joy to see his little budding testimony grow, and his childlike faith is such an example to the doubter/skeptic in me.
Friday, I was in charge of a large activity at our church, and was in the middle of a very busy day. I had run some errands, returned home briefly to unload the car, then needed to quickly head back out the door. But I could not find my keys! I frantically searched, already running behind, but knowing they had to be nearby since I had just used them to drive home. Then suddenly, dread filled my heart as I realized I could have accidentally locked them in the car. I began to panic, then decided again to enlist Grins' faith in my cause. "Grins, I need to find my keys. Will you help me pray?" He was, of course, eager and willing. But after our first, brief prayer, we had no success. Frustrated and stressed, I began thinking of other options, when he suddenly said "Mommy, wait, let me say one more prayer!"

His prayer was so simple and pure: "...Heavenly Father, we know you have SO, SO, SO much power. Can you please let us have just a tiny bit of Your power so we can find the keys? You have SO much and if you just share a little bit with us then we can find the keys...." My first thought was "Well, now I know for certain we'll find them - surely God can't help but honor such a sweet little request?!" As soon as we said "Amen" Grins jumped up and said, "I remember, you put them on the ledge!" I checked the ledge but, when they weren't there, began doubting (oh, how quick to doubt I am!) Then, miraculously, I looked down into a crevace, where they must have fallen from off the ledge, but which had previously been hidden from view. I couldn't believe how quickly they missing keys were found.

This was such a simple, little miracle, but such a tender moment for me to recognize my son's faith, and gratitude that he had the opportunity to experience, firsthand, the power of prayer. It brought me back to my own, very first experience of the power of prayer, as a young girl of 3 or 4 years (just like Grins!) I remember being at a Christmas Bazaar at a HUGE expo center with hundreds and hundreds of people. Toward the beginning of the Bazaar, I had purchased a tiny baby doll that fit in the palm of my preschool-sized hand. It even came complete with an even tinier pacifier (small enough to fit in the very small baby's mouth...smaller than a pea.) Halfway through the bazaar (around and through which we had walked for quite awhile), I realized, with as much sadness as my 4-yr-old heart had known, that my baby's pacifier was missing. I immediately alerted my father to this fact, and he said "That's too bad." When I asked if we could go look for it, he said "Well, that would be like looking for a needle in a haystack!" I can't remember whether it was he or I that suggested we pray, but I do remember him (all 6 feet 5 of him) kneeling down in the middle of the walkway with me, amidst hundreds of people walking around us, and praying that we could find the baby binkie. Can you guess where this is going? Yes, we got up, and not 10 steps later, we found the pacifier. And I still remember the incredulous - and relieved - look on my dad's face. But mostly, I remember the power of prayer, and how a kind and loving Heavenly Father took a moment from his eternally busy schedule to answer the insignificant prayer of a little 4 year old girl because it meant the world to her.

And it is so wonderful to see this come full circle, in the life of my own child. Man, I LOVE being a mother!!! And I am so blessed to have been born of goodly parents. My heart is so full tonight!

(Note: because I am currently WC (without-camera), I am using old pictures that *sort of* relate to my post - the top is Grins and Angel snuggling in the morning, just because it's so cute. And last is a picture of my Dad and my children - 4 of the people I love most!)