Be Careful What You Pray for
“Yes—he wants to meet my parents!” My heart spun in circles. A secret crush, Ethan, had asked to accompany me home from college Easter weekend. Kevin Levellie, another friend of Ethan’s, pastored a small church in Fresno, where my folks lived. After Sunday evening worship, Ethan and I popped over to Kevin’s house, visiting into the night. Driving back to school the next morning, Ethan suggested we pray for Kevin. Seems he thought a wife would cure Kevin’s loneliness.
Eager to Impress
Eager to impress Ethan I nearly sang, “All right! I’ll go first.”
“Dear Lord, please lead a woman into Kevin’s life who will stand beside him, offering hope in the darkness and laughter in the bright times, who will help him pastor your sheep with tenderness, bringing out the best in him and them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Shortly after my show-offy prayer, Ethan lost interest in me. Although confused and hurt, I accepted his explanation that he felt inferior because I had wheels and he didn’t.
The Diamond Bikini
That spring, Kevin and I started writing. This old-fashioned custom requires use of a pen and paper to tell someone what’s been going on in your life, and ask them about theirs. After finishing the letter, you fold the paper, place it in an envelope, attach a stamp, and mail it. Archaic, I know, but effective.
When I returned home for the summer, our friendship soared. By August, my ring finger danced in the Fresno sun, clad in a diamond bikini.
God Smiles
Do God’s methods of answering prayer baffle you? Although I consider myself creative, I did not have me in mind when I asked God to send Kevin a wife. In fact, I had insisted since childhood that a preacher was my last choice as a spouse because I wanted to be rich.
Yet thinking back over the last forty-plus years (I was five when this story took place), who am I to look the Great I Am in the face and say, “You bungled it the day you called me, Lord. I’m too silly, loud, impulsive, and messy to make a decent pastor’s wife.”
He would only smile and say, “You asked for a wife for Kevin, didn’t you?”
Have you ever been surprised at an answer to a prayer?
