How Many Prayers?

Miraculously, I found myself writing and editing over 5,000 words yesterday.  To some that may not seem like much, but to me, that was a huge amount of work.  I reflect on this because yesterday I had several prayers answered in rapid succession. 
These last few weeks of school have been challenging since the illness and subsequent death of my cousin, Joe.  He remains in my heart as a primary thought lately.  I miss him.  In my grief, my mind has slowed to a crawl and during this five week university course, I have found myself behind the eight ball more than once.  Add to that the fact that my computer decided to welcome a viral bug into our little home and all the challenges that ensued from that melding have been a bit overwhelming.

My final day of class was yesterday and I was horrifically behind because of my emotional and technological challenges.  The exciting part came when I realized as the final editor of the document that my two out of three team mates on the group paper that was due yesterday had primarily quoted research for every part of their sections of the document.  I had to rewrite nearly the entire paper to make it original work.

On top of that, I also had my own individual paper due.  I hadn't even begun my research.

I was beside myself with worry that I was not going to be able to complete everything I had to get done by the deadline.  Our team would have a reduction in our score and I would lose out on both my papers.

With a deadline of midnight last night looming, when 10:30 PM arrived and I was submitting both papers completed, I was elated.  My prayers to God were answered.  I had been infused with the energy and focus to get the work done.

The other prayer that had an answer was a very old one; one that's actually more than a decade old.  A truth was told that changed everything for the better.  I've been asking for this truth for a long time and now that it has arrived I feel 100% better.  It's now time to move on more joyfully.  Although it is a confidence that I must keep, suffice it to say I've grown in admiration and respect for the truth-sayer.

I like to joke that God takes care of small animals, little children, and me because none of us can take care of ourselves.  The truth is I'm surrounded by people who love me and support me through these tribulations.  My faith is my foundation, but my loved ones are the structures of my joy.

Sometimes we get answers.  Sometimes we wait.  Sometimes we just won't know that our prayers were answered because the answers were different than we expected.  We always learn from everything we experience, though.  That's the good news.

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Reference

Glica-Hernandez, James S. Ch., (2008) "Her Prayer in Humble Gratitude." 18"x24" Acrylic on canvas.