My Prayer Box

In my high school interior design class, one our projects was to create a "soft box".  Here's the beauty.

 In my soft box, I kept all my favorite, silly, stupid, sentimental mementos.

Silly things like this.

(Yes, I took that picture.  It's Allan playing donkey basketball in high school, complete with puff-paint art designed by yours truly.)

Stupid things like this.

And sentimental things like this.

And it contained prayers written in pencil on college-ruled notebook paper.

One day long ago, when I was a teen, I was reading a novel (if I wasn't outside laying on the grass, gazing at the sky or riding my bike, I was reading).  The girl in the novel would write down her prayers and put them in a box.

It was a novel idea (pun intended).

So, I wrote down some of my prayers and put them in my box.  I would look at my prayers from time to time, but nothing seemed to happen.  Then I forgot about them.  I forgot about them for a decade and a half.

I just pulled the box out today and looked through it.

One of my prayers was: Please send me a special friend.  It's funny, isn't it?  Funny that I thought I knew what I needed.

Growing up, I always dreamed of having a "bosom friend" or a "kindred spirit".  I felt like I was Anne of Green Gables, but I had no special friend with whom I could really relate.  I had my sister.  But we were sisters, not friends.  I had my friends, but I never felt a really deep connection with them.  I wanted someone who was fiercely loyal, imaginative, adventurous, and honest.  I wanted someone who thought like I did.  Someone who acted like I did.  Someone who really understood me and agreed with me.

Or at least I thought I did.

Funny, isn't it, that when you think about it, no two girls could be more different than Anne of Green Gables and her bosom friend, Diana Barry.  Their friendship had nothing to do with their sameness.

Now, I can look at my friendships, thanking God for them and how they are each unique.

I have my "practical-down-to-earth friends".  Friends like Tonya and RaeAnne.   I have my "wanna-party", "I'll-never-forget-your-birthday", "I'll-bring-you-Gatorade-at-midnight-cuz-you-got-the-flu-friends".  Friends like Nancy.    I have my "let's-talk-about-the-facts-and-analyze-this" friends.  Friends like Stacy Lou.  I have my "tell-me-your-problems-I'll-nod-and-empathize" friends.  Friends like Lauren and Jess.  And I have my "what-is-the-meaning-of-life-and-where-am-I-going" friends.  Friends like Jill.  And I have my friends from afar like Laura, Janelle, Angie, Erin, Kristina, Cheree, Karen, Gena, Joni, Wendy, Erica, Anne just to name a few.

But best of all, I have a perfect friend.  A friend that cares about all my dreams and disappointments.  A friend who is always present and never absent.  A friend who is loving, loyal and long-suffering.

I think I'll consider that prayer answered.

Another prayer was: Grant Modesto his appeal so he can get out of prison.  It was dated 1999.  It obviously didn't happen when I had hoped it would, but my heart is just squeezing with thankfulness to know he has been reunited with his family.  Now, he's painting faux brick walls in the home he freely occupies. He's taking selfies with his wife so his loving daughter can post them on Instagram.  He's drinking coffee with his sweetheart and walking on the beach with the wind in his face.

I think I'll consider that prayer answered, too.

Now I'm thinking we need a prayer box (or jar) for our family.  Then in a few weeks, years, or decades, we can go back and be reminded of the faithfulness of our God.

Faithful, faithful God.