Sometimes, we need children to remind us of all the miracles that can happen and that God works in mysterious ways. One young mom named Sara Gruver recently had such a lesson. She had just gotten paid, bought her groceries, and paid her bills, and she only had $20 left for the week.
Her kids asked her for ice cream, but she wasn’t willing to spend the money in case she needed it late in the week.
Her kids really wanted ice cream, and she heard them praying from the backseat. It melted her heart, but she told them it probably wouldn’t help because God doesn’t answer prayers for ice cream. She shared her story online, saying:
“So I have $20 to my name right now. Bills are paid and food is bought, but there just wasn’t much leftover this week. That’s okay. Then on the way home from grocery shopping today, my kids begged for ice cream. Begged. Cried real tears. All the drama.
“I said no.
“I’m short on money and I might need that $20 before payday. We have plenty of good food at home; we don’t need to stop at the ice cream store.
“I heard little sighs from the back seat, and then, ‘God, we’d really love some ice cream. Is there any way you can give mommy some money so we can get some ice cream tonight? We know you can. Thank you.’
“Oh, good grief.”
She felt bad, but she didn’t want to spend the last of her money on ice cream.
She figured the kids would find something else to eat and forget about the ice cream. Then she got home and got the mail. To her surprise, there was a check from an overpaid student loan.
She explained:
“’Guys,’ I said, ‘God isn’t going to drop money on our doorstep so you two can get ice cream. He’s BUSY right now with natural disasters.’ ‘Nope,’ Josh said. ‘God said you’ll have plenty of money for ice cream and to give some to the natural disaster people.’
“’Josh… it doesn’t work that way,’ I started, and then gave up.
“And then we got home. And on my doorstep was the mail. In the mail was an envelope. In the envelope was a check for $123. From an overpayment on a student loan, I paid off… in 2007. The kids were not surprised. God was not surprised. They got ice cream. The Red Cross got a donation. And Mom remembered, yet again, what it means to have the faith of a child.”
Sara learned that day that God hears all prayers, even those from kids who want ice cream.
She may have thought that there was no way to buy them ice cream, but God gave them a way. Her children never doubted that God would make it happen for them. Sara felt bad that she had told them God was too busy to grant their prayer request, and it was simply said in the heat of the moment.
Still, they weren’t phased by her comment and continued to pray instead.
Children often have a stronger faith than adults. They don’t need to use reason or science to explain things; they simply know in their hearts when things are going to work out and when they aren’t.
We could all take a lesson from these little kids and Sara’s story.
We shouldn’t think that our problems are too big or too small for God or that he is too busy to hear our prayers and answer them. If we believe enough, he will find a way to make sure we get what we want or need.
These kiddos knew he was listening, even when their mom said he wasn’t. In the end, they got exactly what they asked him for. Their mom’s faith was also restored. Now, she knows not to doubt their faith again.
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So I have $20 to my name right now. Bills are paid and food is bought, but there just wasn’t much leftover this week. …
Posted by Sara Moore Gruver on Monday, August 28, 2017
