Yesterday morning, our phone rang.
It was our missionaries, their lunch appointment had fallen through
and they
needed a place to eat. Certainly my reply was "Yes" and
with much gratitude they said they
would be by later in
the afternoon. Around noon, The Rooster had a basketball game.
We are in the midst of our church basketball tournament. It
was such a fun game and
the boys all played so well. At one
point during the game the Stake Young Men's President
pointed
out that all the players on our ward team...came from our family.
Sure enough...I looked at each of them and they are all cousins.
How great is that!!
They won their game and The Rooster and I
headed home to begin preparing
a meal for the missionaries who
would soon arrive. I do love the missionaries!
They are in our
home a lot and they have been a great blessing to our family for
many years.
But this day, would be different. I wouldn't be
the one offering service...it would those wonderful missionaries
that would teach me a lesson...a very simple, yet profound one.
The missionaries arrived...lunch was ready...The Farmer joined us.
As we began to eat, it began to rain. We all commented on how strange
the weather has
been this year. The Peach trees in are in full blossom,
and are about three weeks ahead
of schedule. We have hardly had
a Winter this year. It has been warm actually which
is dangerous for
our orchards. So, we continued to visit, and then the rain became
more aggressive. I went to the window to see what was happening at
while
I stood looking out, it began to hail. I couldn't take my eyes
off of my yard which was
quickly filling with rain and hail. My heart
sank! The Farmer sat listening...hoping that
the sound of the hail
would stop...but it didn't. He then went to his truck and left
for
the nearby orchards to see what damage had been done.
Perfectly helpless, I stood with those sweet missionaries in
my kitchen.
Hail is never a good thing for a farmer. I could see
that the missionaries were also
worried. I am sure they were
watching me and could see my concern.
I said something like...
"God knows all...and we are in His hands..."
We sat in silence...with the sound of more hail and rain beating
on the roof of our home...
when one of the dear missionaries asked
if we might pray.
Grateful for the suggestion I said "please."
With perfect faith and conviction...
yet full of humility the
Elder began to pray. He offered the most perfect and sincere prayer.
He prayed specifically for The Farmer, that our crops would not
be terribly
damaged and that we would be filled with peace and
know that the Lord was perfectly
aware of us. The prayer was extraordinary
because it truly was a conversation
between a child and a Father.
A simple yet profound petition for help and understanding.
It
was one of the most pure prayers I have ever heard. It was simple...
It was perfect.
Because I have the "gift" of tears...this is where I found myself
when the prayer
was done. In tears. So totally grateful for
a cancelled lunch appointment.
So grateful for two worthy missionaries
who I "thought" I was serving...
who were truly teaching and serving me.
And so grateful for a perfect lesson in
simple faith that I needed.
Nothing happens by chance...that I know for sure.
They were meant to be with me...in that moment yesterday...
to teach me.
