Growing up in a blended family I only saw what my parents allowed me to see. Being a child I didn\u2019t know the struggles and joys of the head of the household and his wife managing two households. They never told me about the division amongst the children nor did they ever talk about the what seems to be endless bickering amongst the adults. Nope I wasn\u2019t quite prepared for all of this. But what mommy and daddy did teach me- was the power of prayer! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My parents taught me about the power of praying without ceasing. Daddy would always say \u201cWhitnee\u2019 you only need the Faith the size of a mustard seed.\u201d I was amazed at the size of the mustard seed the first time mom showed me in an illustration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I got older and started dating and had my eyes on this one handsome, charming boy in particular\u2026oh how mommy would talk to me and give me warnings. Those warnings I simply ignored until after the woes of being married young started to weigh on me. Here I was married at 19, had my first baby at almost 20. I was \u201cliving the life\u201d or so I thought. I was broke, didn\u2019t know the true meaning of what it meant to struggle, and surely didn\u2019t know the first thing about raising a child that was yours and wouldn\u2019t be going anywhere. That\u2019s right, though I had 3 step children; it\u2019s a huge difference seeing them every other day or sometimes every other week but having your own where you are the mom was a major wake up call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I depended on prayer and God\u2019s word to get me through several phases of life and even now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I reflect back over the last 15 years of my life and I think of all the joy that comes along with raising 6 children; my heart smiles. It wasn\u2019t easy. Lord knows it wasn\u2019t easy and several nights I found myself down on my knees praying and asking God for strength. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then it scriptures like Luke chapter 11: 5-8 that encourage me when I think of all that has happened over the years. God has placed people strategically in my life who\u2019ve gotten up at midnight (maybe not to bake me bread) but who have prayed with me, listened to my cries, provided a sense of encouragement, help me face some realities, and who have helped me to cope with change over the years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You see if it had not been for God, my praying mother, my husband, and this small (select few) of women, a special aunt and cousins; I don\u2019t know where I would be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At times when I wanted to give up and just honestly say \u201cthe hell with it\u201d it was that friend at midnight<\/em><\/strong> that helped me to persevere. It was that friend at midnight <\/em>last <\/strong>that saw the bigger picture that I was unable to see for whatever reason. It was that friend at midnight<\/em> <\/strong>who always pointed me to the God who I can cast all of my cares upon. Yes it was that friend at midnight <\/em><\/strong>who had the same compassion, the same love, the same heart as the friend at midnight who would provide whoever many loaves of bread this person was in need of so he would have fresh bread for his friend who was just passing through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I thank God for everyone who <\/em><\/strong>has been that friend and midnight <\/em><\/strong>and I thank God for His word and for never giving up on me and for helping me to be content and understanding and accepting even those things in which I couldn\u2019t understand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since I have had to endure many nights of sleepless nights, heartache, confusion, grief, and all other sorts of emotion I\u2019ve come to realize that God truly has been there every step of the way. Like Scripture has taught us, He has been better to me than I am to myself. Oh how I glorify His name and I give Him all the honor and glory for His peace, His grace, and His mercy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As I continue to reflect on prayer, listening to God, meditating on His word, and continuing to hear His voice God told me to stop and thank Him for all those persons who\u2019ve been persistently praying for my family. I don\u2019t take for granted nor do I overlook those prayers; I cherish all of them. I thank those who have allowed me to pray for you and your family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n