Precious Family Ties

God can answer prayers in a way that will cause you to never doubt His wisdom again...ever!  I don't like to use personal experience, but that's the only kind I've had. :)

Back in 2001, I felt spiritually depressed, over run and stressed out physically...but didn't realize the extent until I had prayed that I would have more time for spiritual matters...and get better organized....just those two special prayers.

 I was working at the USPS (stressful job in itself)   and was temporarily the Officer in charge at a small town near our's. My regular job was postal clerk in my town. Our children were grown and moved to Texas. I didn't work outside my home until they were both out of college.

Well, just days after I had prayed for those 2 things, meds that were prescribed by my doctor shut my kidneys down...and I was in the hospital 2 weeks. I thought at first that it was the flu because I ached all over too. I waited from Sunday until Wednesday, without appetite, without having to get up off the couch for anything, before I told Bobby what had happened.  We went to the doctor immediately.

I didn't realize how stressed out I was until I was lying in the hospital those two weeks. I realized then that this serious illness is a big blessing!

After I was released to go back to work, I was still weak and by the time I got the mail put up every morning, I was looking for a place to lie down. :) I had Bobby go purchase a recliner for me to have at the P O and I told him that when I went back to my town to work that it would be his, so get one that fit him and one that he liked.

A week after I went back to work, the boss from Tulsa came and told me I was going to be replaced. He said a career employee was only supposed to work as OIC for 6 months and they had left me in for 14 months. So....I went back to my regular post office,leaving a 40 hour a week job to a 4 hour a week job plus whenever the pm wanted off. That is two of the big whammies that hit us the same month in March!

Then on March 17 (St Patrick's Day 2001), it was on a Saturday and I had just come in from work and was still very weak, so I lay down and took a nap. I woke up at 3 p.m. and decided to wash my hair. First, since it was cool in the house, I turned on the central heat (mistake # 1) Then I let Baby Bird out of his cage...(Mistake # 2)

While I was rinsing my hair, I noticed Baby Bird was flying wild! I could hear him chirping but I had the water running and couldn't hear or see what else was going on. When I raised my hair up from rinsing it, and put the towel over my hair...black smoke was coming out of every vent in the ceilings. The attic was on fire!

I tried to get Baby Bird back in the cage or to come to me and he wouldn't. I hated to leave him but the smoke was getting to me big time...I told him I had to get out and sadly, thought that he wasn't going to live but a few minutes in there....so I went out and moved the car up the street and a friend came by and said he would go tell Bobby.

I went back to move the van....and while I was about to do that, Bobby came and was going to go into the house to get Baby Bird. I talked him out of it because I was afraid the burning ceiling would fall in on him.

Someone called the fire department and while a bunch of the neighbors had congregated with me, down where our vehicles were, Bobby had gone back to the house. We just stood there and watched the smoke. The firemen had propped open the kitchen door and Bobby saw Baby Bird fly by it. He went in and he had landed and Bobby held his hand up to him and he got on his hand, and he brought him to me. I thought he would have been dead by that time! So glad to see the little fella. (The reason Baby Bird didn't come to me and did to Bobby, is that he had bonded to Bobby. They are a one man bird. Bobby had already started working at the shop just afternoons so Baby Bird had lots of time to bond to him.

About praying to be organized....I think God must have taken a look and thought, "Edna, it isn't possible. We're going to have to start from the ground up!" lol   Well that was three big whammies in a row...all three blessings... and both of the prayers answered.

I retired in June of that year because I really didn't feel like working very much and I got a big bonus besides what I had prayed for....having more time for spiritual matters and not being so stressed...I got these 12 years and hopefully more...to spend with Bobby, uninterruped by nothing except his 1/2 day of work at his barber shop. He fully retired in 2009.

So if you are a Christian...when you pray, please believe that God, in His infinite wisdom, knows how to answer your prayer...and He also knows when to answer and all about it.  Even if things seem bad or worse after you pray...trust Him completely.  He has truly guided our lives ever since we became His children in November of 1956!