Hearts of Prayer

We call him Hearts.  Hearts the-Licker Wilks is his full name (because his tongue sticks out, of course.)  An official Wuggle-Pet, Hearts enjoys the distinction of being the newest member of Abigail's sizable stuffed friend collection. Hearts and  Abi  just  met on Good Friday. You would swear they have been together forever, but not so much. Now that they have each other, he goes everywhere with her.  He secretly rides in her backpack to preschool.  He has his own spot in the van.  He loves to watch My Little Pony.   It came as no surprise to me when Hearts-the-Licker got sick with her on Easter weekend. (It's hard to say who had it first, though.)  He was a tough pup and took it well; didn't complain much at all, even when it came to his medicine.

We attended an Easter celebration that day at a friend's house.   At some point early in the festivities I noticed  Abi's friend's Blue Wuggle was residing in Abi's pocket. He just never left.  If you are are not in a stage of your life when you get to listen to kids TV programming as much a I do, you may not recognize the strange enormity of six inch tall Wuggle Pets.  You may not get the jingle lodged in your head almost daily. For what ever reason, Abi has wanted a Wuggle Pet since the first time she saw that commercial and heard the catchy ditty.   But honestly, Abi wants a LOT of things as soon as she sees the commercials.  She had asked me for one, in a list along with new crayons, and flip-flops with stars, and a purple lamb, and a thousand other things.  I didn't think  much about it.  I didn't take her request that seriously. She seemed content with my, "we'll see" answer and that was fine.
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Until that Friday,  I had absolutly no idea that she had been going over my head to ask someone else about her Wuggle desires.  (Okay, yes. I knew she had talked to John about it.  But, he gave her the same "we'll-see" response that I did. That was that.)  Apparently, she accepted our dismissal so easily, because she was taking it up with the Almighty.  Since the very first day she heard that little jingle, she asked God if he would please bring her a Wuggle Pet.  No, I am not kidding.

If I would have known this, I probably would have found her one myself, sooner.  Part of me wishes I could have been responsible, at least in part, for her Wuggle-smiles.  But I am not, and because of the sweetness of this story, I am okay with that.  

See, Abi's friend, (Heart's original owner) stood in the dark about Abi's Wuggle prayers too.   She only had a feeling (while they were doing something completely different) that  Abi would appreciate the Wuggle Pet and that she should share.  Without hesitation or regret she handed over the little blue dog with a smile.  I had thought it would only be for the afternoon; I was shocked when I was matter-of-factly informed that the arrangement  was final in the eyes of our nine year old friend, and her mother.  And then, with her eyes beaming and heart brimming, Abi gushed:  "God LOVES me!  HE answered my prayers!!! REALLY!!!..." and the rest of the story unfolded.

Abi got her Wuggle Pet.  Do I believe he Wuggle wish was granted by the One?   Do I believe the God fills the Heavens and the Earth would think to give my five year old her Wuggle Pet?  Does the Creator of the Universe stop to deal in 6 inch spotted blue stuffies?

Yes. I do. Because He does love her.   He loves her, maybe even more than I love her. (That is really hard for me to wrap my  brain around.)  He loves her.  If He can use a Wuggle to show her that, why not?

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"  Matthew 7:9-11

But what about when our proverbial Wuggles don't come?   Children go hungry. Rejection letters come again.  Loved ones are left to morn.  Sadness.  Brokenness. Oppression.  Pain.  Those tho live in  a perpetual state of--without.  We see it,  daily if we open our eyes.    Sometimes, the things we pray for don't materialize.  And if I am really transparent enough to reflect the light and love of Jesus, it is hard for me to  wrap my brain around that, too.

This life is like that.  I see a crazy mix of joy and pain, sunshine and sorrow, healing and sickness, abundance and need.    Some say God steps in to answer prayers for what we need.  True. A good Father would never want his children to go without.  Some say God likes to answer prayers by using his people and their abundant resources.  True.  My daughter's answered prayer came by the willing and generous hand of a little girl who runs with Jesus.  She understands that she is blessed to be a blessing.  I love that.  We do miss a chance to see answered prayers when we hold our gifts with white knuckled fists.  Is that why the next verses speak that good ol' golden rule?

 More than the cosmic vending machine.  More than most fair Father we can imagine.  Prayer gives us more than that simply because God is more than that.  It is more than the yes or the no; even more than the hope and the waiting.  In prayer, we find a connection. We find a relationship.

The best gifts I have ever received (and the best relationships I have ever enjoyed) have been the ones that tell me I am known, loved and accepted, even appreciated more than I realize.  The unsolicited gifts from my sweet husband that celebrate my quirkiness.  Friends who are willing to sit with me on one of "those days" and not expect me to be inspirational I'm just not in that place.  Children who recognize when I need civility and maybe even a little chocolate.

No, Abi didn't need the Wuggle Pet.  But she did need that connection.  She needed that certainty. He gave her a little blue reflection of tangible love to cling to.  Because life is like that.  And He knows what she needs even better than I do.