How Much New Life Can You Handle?

I used to be scared to pray, "Your will be done, Lord." I am ashamed to admit that, but it's true. I thought if I prayed that little prayer that God would take license to do ANYTHING to my life that He wanted. And maybe I wouldn't like the changes He made.

Like, what if He called us to be missionaries in some far-away place? What if He called me to adopt 15 troubled children? What if He....just any number of things. I was much more comfortable praying my "suggestion prayers." You know the kind? That's the kind of prayer where you pray about your life and spend your whole prayer time "suggesting" to God what things might be a nice answer to prayer. Basically, you have worked out the whole solution to your problems and you just really need God's stamp of approval and everything will be wonderful.

Can I just tell you that doing things God's way--the very little that I have done this in my life--is wonderful?

Our family has undergone major changes in the last 2-3 years. I would have never prayed for these things to happen. I never even thought these changes were possible! I cried and went back to work after the birth of my children, never even thinking that there was any other way. The year I stayed home, I watched our savings slipping through our fingers and thought, "It's all over. There is no way we will make it." I was exhausted from trying to make the changes I wanted in our life and trying to make them by myself. (Guess what? It wasn't working!)

I finally got the nerve to pray that prayer. I prayed for God to change our lives and to change us. I prayed for Him to show us how He wanted us to live. I was pretty sure we weren't there. What really convicted my husband and I was this thought: Other than where we spend our Sunday mornings, if you placed us next to an unsaved family, what would look different about our lives?

And God answered. He started with me and my heart. And then bigger changes started taking place. Finding out what God's will for our families is, and getting a taste of doing things His way has shown me how much peace there is in being inside the will of God. I never want to go back.

If I could spread this one message in my life I would be happy. I want people to know that God's plan for the family works. The order He established is wise. There is peace and joy in doing things God's way. I have heard all your excuses. (But you don't know MY husband. We are just too deep in debt. But I am not cut-out to just raise kids all day. Etc. Etc. Etc.) I know the excuses because I have spoken many of them.

I will say it again: God's plan for the family works. Have you prayed for God to show you how He wants your family to be? What is keeping you from praying that little prayer?