Prodigal: Sometimes times seems as slow as molasses.

Me: Sometimes it does.

“I am just going to pray that the Holy Spirit will find me a stud!” I told my brother on the phone. He laughed and said “That sounds like a great prayer!” As we both finished laughing. We said our goodbyes, and ended the conversation.

As soon as the call was finished, I thought to myself. I am serious. I need help. What my humor failed to voice on the phone was my feelings of inadequacy. This was an area that I knew I struggled in. Not only did I struggle in it, to be honest it confused me at times.

I felt to do this all alone was overwhelming. I wanted someone to do it for me. I wanted it all to be finished. That was not an option.

I knew I was alone in all this. It was me and God.

At this point, I know you want to ask. Did God answer my prayer? Why yes He did. He was with me, and He was answered quickly.

By the end of the night God had helped me find a stud. I had a small project that I needed to be done that night, and it was late. I really had not planned it all out. So here I was late in the night attempting to nail some items into the wall so that I could create something that would store new items.

The only problem, was that when it comes to handy man jobs, I am at a complete lost. When my brother said that I need to make sure I find a stud, my mind began to question what I had got myself into.

Lord has blessed me with several gifts, but there is a reason God is never going to ask me to build an ark, or even a birdhouse….

I was faced with not being able to get help, and needed this completed quickly. So here I was on the phone with my brother for a couple of minutes, and he was informing me to find a stud.

I was overwhelmed.

Where do you go when you are overwhelmed? Do you give up? Do you throw money at the problem? Do you go to sleep? How about just doing without? I have done all of these options before. In my weariness of the moment, and also my fear. I just turned to the Lord.

I thought for a second, how is God going to help me find a stud in the wall, and make this project happen? I pretty sure there is not a bible verse on finding a stud. Was Jesus going to show up in my house, and grab a hammer? (I wish). In the logical thoughts, and present situation it seemed even silly to think a prayer, and the Lord would help.

There is another side. The Holy Spirit living inside of me that let me know that God does care. That God wants to help me. So which do a choose?

I chose to pray. I trusted in the Lord that He really loves me, and that He says He will never leave me. So how did God do it?

He didn’t change my environment. Nobody knocked on my door in that minute to complete the task. The project was not suddenly completed without me having to lift a finger. No what happened is as I started, God gave me wisdom. What I was looking for started to make sense when I had never had any of this make sense to me before. God also calmed my heart, and gave me strength to do what I needed to do.

The Lord’s promises were true, and we can trust Him in everything. We can trust Him in the areas we feel overwhelmed, and insecure about. We can trust Him when we have no idea what the next five minutes will look like.

Am I going to attempt a birdhouse now? No, but I do know God will be with me, and when I need Him, I can count on Him. Even if I need to find a stud.

I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.

PSALM 116 : 13

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org