Long Haul Prayers
When I was a little girl, my family would sometimes go to West Virginia to see the old relatives of Granddad Mullennax and Nanny Granny. I have some vague, scattered memories of some of those trips. I think most of remembrances have to do with Aunt Alma's house in Clarksburg.
I remember driving into the town going down a long hill like you were coming out of the mountains. I can remember the beautiful old houses and a big church. I'm pretty sure there was a big white house across the street from Aunt Alma's house. And I remember playing in somebody's attic, maybe hers. And I can recall some big dinners with a table full of all kinds of food.
Aunt Alma wasn't really an aunt. I think she was a cousin of your Grandma Beckner. But that is what we called her, and we called her husband, Uncle Forest. Another vivid memory I have is of all the family men playing cards around a big table. Uncle Forest liked to play cards, and unfortunately he liked to smoke and drink as well. I remember him as very nice and funny, but he must not have been very happy.
For years when we were little Uncle Forest was on our prayer list. I think once or twice I wondered how long a person should keep on praying for another. But I can remember Grandma and Granddaddy praying for Uncle Forest to get saved and asking God to help him get his life in order. He had a hard life, and eventually got very sick from his bad habits. But we kept praying.
From time to time, Aunt Alma would call Grandma and tell her how things were going. Their family eventually moved away from West Virginia to somewhere in the south, maybe Florida, if I'm not mistaken. One day out of the blue she called to let Grandma know that Uncle Forest had asked Jesus to forgive him of his sins. He got saved. It wasn't too long after his decision that he passed away.
Aunt Alma got to come to your mom and dad's wedding in South Carolina. She took this photo with Grandma.
I bet your family has a special prayer list. Sometimes it might seem that we pray and pray for something for a long, long time and wonder if God is really listening. But we can rest assured that God does hear our prayers and in His "just right" time, He does answer.
Once on a furlough when our boys were little, they went to a church for a summer Vacation Bible School and each one got a little wooden bench with their name on it. A man in the church made the benches and during the week put each child's name on one. During the week the speaker talked about prayer and asked the boys and girls to use their little benches to kneel and pray each night before going to bed.
I carefully packed the benches and brought each one to Brazil. After a few years, no one used them so much for praying that I know of as the little boys all go a little too big for them. But when we came back to Brazil after leaving Dalton behind in 2014, I put his little bench by my side of the bed. Sometimes I hunched down and kneeled in front of it to pray for him. It wasn't a special good luck kind of thing. I prayed in many other places during the day, but it seemed like a perfect way to remember Dalton specifically from time to time, and when my prayers were very earnest.
I remember driving into the town going down a long hill like you were coming out of the mountains. I can remember the beautiful old houses and a big church. I'm pretty sure there was a big white house across the street from Aunt Alma's house. And I remember playing in somebody's attic, maybe hers. And I can recall some big dinners with a table full of all kinds of food.
Aunt Alma wasn't really an aunt. I think she was a cousin of your Grandma Beckner. But that is what we called her, and we called her husband, Uncle Forest. Another vivid memory I have is of all the family men playing cards around a big table. Uncle Forest liked to play cards, and unfortunately he liked to smoke and drink as well. I remember him as very nice and funny, but he must not have been very happy.
For years when we were little Uncle Forest was on our prayer list. I think once or twice I wondered how long a person should keep on praying for another. But I can remember Grandma and Granddaddy praying for Uncle Forest to get saved and asking God to help him get his life in order. He had a hard life, and eventually got very sick from his bad habits. But we kept praying.
From time to time, Aunt Alma would call Grandma and tell her how things were going. Their family eventually moved away from West Virginia to somewhere in the south, maybe Florida, if I'm not mistaken. One day out of the blue she called to let Grandma know that Uncle Forest had asked Jesus to forgive him of his sins. He got saved. It wasn't too long after his decision that he passed away.
Aunt Alma got to come to your mom and dad's wedding in South Carolina. She took this photo with Grandma.
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| South Carolina, 2004 |
Once on a furlough when our boys were little, they went to a church for a summer Vacation Bible School and each one got a little wooden bench with their name on it. A man in the church made the benches and during the week put each child's name on one. During the week the speaker talked about prayer and asked the boys and girls to use their little benches to kneel and pray each night before going to bed.
I carefully packed the benches and brought each one to Brazil. After a few years, no one used them so much for praying that I know of as the little boys all go a little too big for them. But when we came back to Brazil after leaving Dalton behind in 2014, I put his little bench by my side of the bed. Sometimes I hunched down and kneeled in front of it to pray for him. It wasn't a special good luck kind of thing. I prayed in many other places during the day, but it seemed like a perfect way to remember Dalton specifically from time to time, and when my prayers were very earnest.
God answered our prayers for Dalton.
It didn't take years and years.
I love you boys. And I pray for each one of you many times during each week. I pray that above all you will each one be faithful servants in God's work.
Take care!
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