What are you waiting for???

Yesterday I got word that someone who I am very close to and love very much was a having a rough time.  He was in desperate need of prayer.  About 8 months ago, he had given his life to the Lord and now he was being faced with some serious trials as a result of earlier circumstances.  Among other things, he was really wrestling with whether he was a good dad.  Three out of four of his girls from a previous marriage had recently decided that they wanted to move more than an hour away to live with their mom. He had put off for quite some time allowing this move to take place but he finally felt like he had no other choice but to let them go.  During their time there, their trips back here have been few and far between.  Their 3 year old sister repeatedly asks “where are my sisters” and “when will I see them.”  To which there is no good answer that she would understand.  For the past three years, she has lived a life that involved them every day and now they are gone.  He also has had to deal with questions from us, asking when they would return and when we will be able to see them.  Again, he has no answer.  And again he has his own worries.  What are they doing?  Are they safe?  Are they getting into trouble?  Are they doing well in school? (Not that their mother didn’t worry about the same things but these things are consequences of divorce and a topic for another post—this is to merely express the hardship and the trial that he was enduring and continues to endure.)  So not only is he having to absorb everyone’s questions and concerns but his own concerns and then he has to deal with his own loss, his own feelings of missing them and his own broken heart.   Well Friday, they were supposed to come back for the weekend but for some reason they didn’t.  He had been in a good mood, awaiting their arrival until he got the news.  It was then that he began to show his vulnerability and his weakness.  It was then that we, as a loving family, were able to see just how well he was doing.  It was then that we were able to see just how much he needed our love and prayer. 

So last night on my way home, I called Lance and asked him to be praying for him.  And as I got off the phone, I too began praying for him.  I knew that others were also praying.  I asked that God confirm in his heart, in whatever way he seemed fit, that he is a good father.  I asked for open eyes on behalf of his girls but more so that he will be given reassurance that he has done a good job and although mom’s house may be the fun place to be and it may keep them away during these teenage years, that he will know that he is loved and that he will always be their dad in the true meaning of the word.    

This afternoon there was a post on his wall from possibly his most rebelliously spirited daughter that read something along these lines:

dear dad.
i listen to a lot of country, christian music.
i'm at my friends house, &' i heard my little girl play on my phone.
it made me realize &' think real hard.
even though, i told you i hated you a million times.
deep down, i love you.
i'm a teenager going through my phases, thinking i'm better than anyone.
but i'm not.
i'm just as equal, as anybody else.
i've thought about everybody in Catoosa, but i've thought about little Gideon &' Tristany the most.
if Gideon were here, he'd want me to visit him as much as possible.
i realize, that i don't visit as often as i shoud.
i realize, that Tristany's only three &' doesn't understand why her sister is gone.
i realize, that Catoosa, gets a visit from me very, very, seldom.
but, i just wanted to say, that i think of you, &' Tristany, all the time.
i pray, that you guys are safe, everynight.
dad, i'm always going to be, your little girl. ♥

God is waiting for your prayers, for your honesty, for your humility in your brokenness.  What are you waiting for?