Hard and Simple Truths

   Most days I can occupy my mind to keep from dwelling on the fact that our daughter is far out of our reach.  Our wait is normal.  Nothing has surpassed the "typical" wait.  Today was just hard.  I missed her hard today.  I found a book in the library that I wanted to preview.  I may read it to her someday.  It's called I Love You Like Crazy Cakes.  I cried.  For her and every other child out there who knows no real family; who wakes up alone in the world; who cries but no one really hears, I simply cried.  I prayed.  I asked God to take the reins...again.  I want to make all of this go faster.  Somehow, I keep ending up trying to hold on to those reins.  I can let go...again.  He will direct our steps.
   So, I will praise Him.  Praise is always fitting.  I read the Old Testament book of Ezra recently.  I marveled that before the Hebrew people rebuilt the foundation of the temple, they rebuilt the altar and re-established sacrifices and offerings.  They worshipped even before they attended to the foundation.  Incredible.
   I will praise Him for simple prayers answered.  I found myself talking with the Lord one day a few weeks ago.  I am trying to have a "cheap" summer.  When we travel, it won't be cheap!  So, I am trying to be thrifty.  Our kids want to build a tree house or fort or whatever.  They just want to build something and play in it.  So, I talked with God about this and then wondered which lumber yard to contact about their cull piles. (A cull pile is scrap wood that is sold pennies on the dollar.)  A week or so later I had yet to make the call.
   But God answered first.  You see, DH called one day from work with the news that they had just received a new, large machine in a wooden pallet.  He wondered if he ought to bring it home to use for this play house.  I agreed, thinking it would be a bunch of basic pallets we could piece together to look like a little shanty.
   No.  We have this pile of incredible lumber in the yard to use for the kids' play house.  Unreal.  He doesn't just hear, He cares.  And, sometimes, He answers in ways that I never imagined, even in the little things.  I guess I ought to take a picture of the pile for our Memorial Box Monday.