Answered Prayer

 

It has been exciting watching God answering prayers in my life and in Jeff's during our separation. Not all of the answers have been "yeses," but we can trust God no matter what. I stand in awe so many times when God gives an answer, and we haven't even prayed about it. Matthew 6:8 says, "...for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." So as God meets a need or answers a prayer, I want to share it with you. This post will be open ended as I'll add to randomly.

•  When Jeff was incarcerated the doctors lowered his medication to half his normal dose. Thankfully Jeff had managed to get by on that dosage for over two years. When he began to struggle he spoke to his psychologist and asked if he could work his way back up to his regular dosage. Thy psychiatrist agreed and after several months Jeff is back to his normal levels and is doing great!

• Our Pastor was approved to visit Jeff! This may seem like a small thing, but it took several applications and several phone calls before Pastor was finally approved.

• For over two years Jeff has been on a waiting list to take classes in prison. I was on a waiting list for 21/2 years and was released before I was assigned a class. Well, the beginning of this year Jeff began his first class. Now he has completed four of them and is enrolled in two more. Not only is Jeff learning new things, but these classes keep him busy.

• Jeff works in maintenance, and his state boots were covered in paint and real scruffy looking. As his parole hearing was approaching he was really hoping he could wear nicer boots to the hearing. He told the Lord he was just going to trust Him. That same morning Jeff was at work when his boss approached him. The boss looked at his boots and told him to run over to property and get new ones. Within a few minutes Jeff was wearing a brand new pair of boots. God cares about the little things!

• When Jeff and I were incarcerated, my parents packed up our home. They kept some things, got rid of others, and then sold our trailer. Jeff had a hymnbook that had belonged to his grandmother that he was hoping had been kept. I was visiting a friend who I knew had bought many of our things, so I asked her if she had it. They had taken our piano, so I'd wondered if she had also taken some of our hymnbooks. My friend said she hadn't seen it. A couple of days later she called me and said she had found the hymnbook inside the piano bench. What a blessing it was to share that news with Jeff! 
  
  
  
  
  

• I had planned to go to Aldi after work to pick up a loaf of bread. I was cleaning my second house and the owner tells me that Instacart delivered a grocery order to her house that she hadn't ordered. They wouldn't take it back due to COVID protocol so she had all these extra groceries. Her mother came over and took what she wanted, and then my client told me I was taking the rest home with me. This is what God gave me...

          You can see my one loaf of bread there! Needless to say I didn't go shopping at Aldi. My client               also gave me a cooler (I was planning on purchasing one to transport food with me when I                       moved), God took care of that too! 

• Jeff had been told by his caseworker that he would not be able to visit with Pastor at his parole hearing. Well God worked it out that Pastor and Jeff were in the same room waiting for Jeff to be called before the board, and they were able spend some time together. Jeff even had time to quote Psalm 25 to Pastor. 

• Back in January 2022 I asked my parole officer if I could write to several ladies in prison. She spoke with her supervisor and the answer was "NO!" God provided a friend of mine who volunteered to write them while I couldn't. That was the first answer to prayer. Every few months I would ask again, and the answer remained the same. In August 2022 I was assigned a new parole officer since I moved to a different county. I asked her about writing my friends in prison. She spoke with her supervisor and on December 19, 2022 she said, "YES!" I cannot explain how excited I was. God had me wait for almost an entire year before I got the "YES" answer. Keep praying folks!