Category Archives: Prayer

The Footprints We Leave

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Singer Steve Green wrote a song that speaks of the generation before us living high-road examples of faith:

Those who’ve gone before us line the way,
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary,
Their lives a stirring testament to God’s sustaining grace.

I look back to my four grandparents, and although three of them had “gone” before I was born, they left footprints of lives that were “stirring testaments to God’s grace.” Each of them lived through severe hardship, yet letters we found were proof of strong relationships with the Lord.

The one grandparent I did know, my mother’s mother Signa, died when I was three. I have only a handful of memories, but she did two significant things for me. She raised my mom, and she was a faithful witness for Christ.

Signa came to America from Sweden as a young girl and married a widower whose 26 year old wife had died of pneumonia leaving him with a baby boy. Signa saw a need and stepped in to help when little Everett was 3, marrying into motherhood in 1908.

After Signa and Ed had been married 5 years, Everett died in a school yard accident, crushed by a heavy iron gate that fell off its hinges. At that time, Signa had given her husband three additional children that were ages 4, 2, and 1. A 4th and 5th child would follow. But death struck a second blow when another son died at 6 months.

Our Mom remembered standing next to her father as this baby brother died in his arms. Overcome with sorrow, Signa had left the room, unable to bear the sight of a second child passing away.

Signa struggled with asthma most of her life, necessitating leaving smoky Chicago during summer’s heat. Her husband, together with 5 other men, bought a cottage in Michigan, and as school let out, Signa left for “the country.” She took her brood of 5 and also the 6 children of a widowed relative. Without benefit of electricity or running water, Signa cared for 11 children by herself from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

When school resumed, she shipped the children home to her husband and stayed alone in Michigan until the first frost. No doubt this was a nourishing time for her, and the photo shows a worn-out but joyful Signa (on the right) enjoying a day at the beach with a friend.

Signa dealt with the stranglehold of the Great Depression, her husband’s diabetes, and eventually his terminal cancer. She was also concerned over one of her children who was epileptic, keeping her “at home” throughout her life. Signa died in her sleep at age 69, her faith in tact and her witness strong.

 

The chorus of Steve Green’s song could very well have been Signa’s prayer for the generations to follow:

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.
May the fire of our devotion light their way.
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey.

Signa was quietly remarkable, and I hope she knows the footprints she left have indeed inspired us. That’s because the steps she followed were those of God.

“I’ve followed [the Lord] closely, my feet in his footprints, not once swerving from his way.” (Job 23:11)

Giver of Life

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When I was two (1947), Santa brought me my first baby doll. She had a cloth body, a hard plastic head, and was about the size of a real newborn. Something inside clicked when I first held her, and from then on, she was my constant companion. I named her Becky and lovingly cared for her.

By the time I was 7, I began wishing Becky would come to life. Some little girls beg their mommies to have another baby, but I didn’t want that. I wanted Becky to be my baby, not mom’s.

In Sunday school I’d been taught two important concepts: (1) God said we could ask him for anything, and (2) God could do anything he wanted. So every night before I went to bed, I tucked Becky into her doll crib and prayed over her. “Dear Jesus, please turn Becky into a real baby.”

That first morning when I found she was still a lifeless doll, I was baffled. God had made Adam real from clay, so I didn’t doubt he could “fix” Becky, too. With confidence and determination, I decided to pray every night until he granted my request.

If ever the expression “faithful in prayer” applied, it was then. I didn’t miss a night, asking God again and again to bring Becky to life. Wasn’t he hearing me? Didn’t he understand the request or my longing for it? Wasn’t I good enough to get one favor from God? Did he lie when he said he could do anything?

Most of us find ourselves asking those same questions even as adults. We pray for something worthwhile, and when it doesn’t happen, we question God’s wisdom and our faith in him. We wonder if the scriptural promises are true and if they are, why they don’t apply to us.

As a young girl in a faith crisis, I finally went to Mom. She explained that God had indeed heard all my prayers and had even answered them all… with a “no”. According to her, God knew a third grade girl couldn’t care for a real baby. She said, “Who would babysit when you were in school or out playing?” I didn’t have an answer.

For the most part I bought her reasoning, but inwardly I was frustrated with God. If he was going to say “no”, he could have at least given me the reason. But even now, 60 years later, he doesn’t usually give reasons for why he says “no” to prayers. Instead he wants me to trust that he does hear me and answers according to what’s best for me.

In my case, the “no” about Becky was permanent. I still have her, and she’s still a lifeless doll. But behind that childhood “no” God quietly whispered a “wait”. Actually it was more like, “But just you wait!” Twenty years later, when the time was right, he changed his “wait” to “yes”!

And along came Nelson, Lars, Linnea, Klaus, Hans, Louisa and Birgitta, 7 real live babies.

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)


Waiting

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Today I spent nearly three hours standing in line at an office that was trying to service too many people. We waited in single file along the wall of a long, narrow corridor, hoping to be heard.

When I arrived, I asked another line-stander how long he’d been there. “Two hours so far,” he said.

The young student in front of me was a guy I’d seen 24 floors down at the lobby security check. I’d been ahead of him in that line, but somehow he’d gotten to the new line ahead of me. I berated myself for wasting 30 seconds finding the right elevator.

So we waited. A man with a cane (complaining loudly) was finally given a chair, but a second complainer was told to sit on the floor.

When a man arrived with a little girl Skylar’s age, I knew they’d never make it. She’d brought a pink back-pack full of activities, and he’d filled his pocket with candy. But after 90 minutes they’d run through their entertainment and gave up, ducking under the ribbon “fence” and heading home.

Although it was frustrating to wait in my poorly chosen shoes, the people-watching was fascinating. Each new arrival began by asking the official at the head of the line, “Where do I go to talk to someone about my problem?”

And to each person he’d say, “Get in line,” while pointing a finger in our direction. Mouths dropped open and objections were made. “I’ve got to get this done on my lunch hour!” (Chuckle, chuckle and another point to the end of the line.)

Or, “This is my day off. If I don’t get it done today, I’ll have to wait a whole week!” (Chuckle, point.)

When the clock inched toward closing time, the representative arrived to knock off most of the waiting line. “We won’t get to any of you people today,” she said, sweeping her hand over most of those waiting. Their groans rose up in unison.

I was third-to-last, grateful I could continue to wait. Sadly, at the end of the meeting, my advisor couldn’t help except to suggest several other offices with new lines to stand in.

Today’s waiting ordeal was a perfect picture of why we have trouble waiting on God. Just as the authorities wouldn’t let us even look into the room where we hoped to go, God doesn’t let us see our future or the details of how our prayers will be answered. And just as we had no idea how long our wait would be, the Lord doesn’t clue us into how long our troubles will last. And just as the office personnel had all the power today and we had none, God is sovereign over the events of our lives. And just as we grew uncomfortable as the hours passed, waiting for the Lord can become downright painful.

When the waiting ordeal was over and I finally got back to my car, I vented to Jack, who had been waiting, too. He wagged his tail as if to say, “Welcome to my world.”

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14)