May 13, 2025
The Lord has listened to my request. The Lord accepts my prayer. Psalm 6:9 CEB
Have you ever hit the proverbial wall? I did last week. I was exhausted. My joints were protesting the days spent packing for our move. I hit the wall when the pain in my sore and swollen left hand rebelled. I sat down to gulp down lunch and a cup of coffee and treat myself to 15 minutes of CNN. Adding insult to injury, the TV didn’t work. In the silence, I finally complained to God. “I’m hurting, lonely, and need some encouragement. I can’t take any more.”
The next minute, my phone dinged with a message. A friend asking, “Are you home?” I replied, “Yes, why are you asking?” Five minutes later, the doorbell rang. My friend stood at the door smiling broadly, a small flat of Starry Night Petunias in her hands. Two years earlier, we’d discovered one small pot of them at a local garden store. Enthralled by their beauty, each of us offered to buy it as a gift for the other. I ended up with the plant and said I’d try to propagate it so I could share it with her. I watched and worried over the petunia. Sadly, it shriveled up and died. There were no more to be found at any of the local garden centers. Last year, we both searched again, with no success.
As I was complaining to God, feeling like my faith was shriveling, my friend was on her way to share part of the flat with me. It was an unexpected answer to prayer. One week later, it is thriving, a constant reminder of God’s care through friendship.
With thanks to God, and my friend. ~ Anne
Starry Night Petunias
Wayfinding 