God Hears and He Answers...

Did you know that God hears your heart’s desire?  Did you know that our joy (real joy) comes from the Lord?  I have known these truths for a while, but about a month ago God once again proved to me that He loves me and desires to see me smile. 
​
In early January, I heard about the upcoming Martin Luther King breakfast being held at the Armory in Minneapolis and I knew immediately I wanted to go.  I looked it up online and saw that Don Lemon was scheduled to be the keynote speaker and the Sounds of Blackness were scheduled to perform.  However, when I arrived at the tickets portion of the website I was immediately disappointed because not only were the tickets I desired out of my price range, but they were also sold out.  I was a bit sad because I really wanted to be there, but internally I made a pledge with myself to make plans to attend in 2020.  I went about the rest of the day not thinking any more about the event, but in my heart, I really wanted to attend.  More than a week later, I came back from lunch to a message from my manager, “Come see me when you get back to your desk!”  I immediately thought I was in trouble although I had no clue why.  It’s probably how most kids feel when they get called to the principal’s office; it’s a nice place to walk by but I don’t really want to be summoned there, but that’s just me.  Anyway, I walked into her office and said, “I’m telling you I did not do it” and chuckled so if I was in trouble it would break the ice.  She said something about knowing that I would think it was about something more serious, but it wasn’t, she just had a question for me.  Her question, “Do you want to go to the Martin Luther King Breakfast at the Armory?”.  I was stunned, floored, and elated all at the same time.  Of course, my answer was YES!  I told her that I tried to get tickets but was I could not find any that were in my budget.  She said OK, it’s yours and she made the arrangements for me to go.  I walked back to my desk on cloud 9 and a grin the size of the entirety of these United States!  I was OVERJOYED!!

The night before the breakfast, I tried to figure out what I was going to wear and how I was going to do my hair so that I would look my best and be prepared because the event began at 7 am.  The next morning the temperature in Minneapolis was frigid and the dress I planned to wear was not going to make it so I had to improvise and thankfully there was a dress that would work.  In addition to a wardrobe change, I was suddenly exhausted as if sleep had alluded me throughout the night, but I was not about to let being tired or the frigid temperatures outside get to me so I pressed on because I could not miss this event.  When I arrived at the Armory, I found the table my job paid for and discovered it was right on the floor of the venue with a clear view of the stage.  I was once again over the moon!  I tried to hold my composure but when the Sounds of Blackness performed I got up, sang and danced a little bit and at that moment it did not matter that I was sitting at a table with attorneys and staff from my job because I was determined to enjoy every moment.  When Don Lemon got up to speak, I thought about the possible consequences of appearing to agree with his remarks especially political ones, but at that moment, I did not care.  It honestly did not matter what Don Lemon said, although his speech was really good, it did not matter because the truth for me at that moment was I was living the dream – the dream of being at the Martin Luther King breakfast celebrating the man with a dream for a nation that has still yet to come to full fruition.  I was living the dream that I wanted but was out of reach until God’s favor turned a no into a yes, and I was determined to savor every single moment. 

Once the event was over, I braved the cold again and walked back to my car.  On the way home, all I could do was cry and praise God for hearing my heart prayers.  You see I never prayed about going, it was my desire, but I did not think it was worthy of prayer time.  I honestly did not think anything more of it after I realized the seat I wanted was sold out.  Yet, my wonderful Abba saw fit to let me go and not only let me go but let me go for free.  Not only let me go for free but also have a great time and not only have a great time but to be right in the middle of the action.  I just cried and worshiped God because really He did not have to do it but He did.  Were there other pressing prayer matters, yes, but for me, this was the encouragement I needed to be reminded that our God is Father and He really truly cares about all that concerns us even the small things that we think aren’t worth His time.

I will leave you with this, know that God hears you.  He hears your prayers and He hears your heart.  He knows the desires He’s placed in you and He wants what is best for you.  I feel like someone thinks that God can only be a tyrant or one who really is too broad to be concerned about the little details of your life, but I am here to tell you that while our Father God is big, He longs to be our Abba (Father, Daddy).  He longs to smother us with His undying, never-ending love.  It’s not that He’s disinterested in helping you grow, but just as a loving earthly father gives his child gifts as well as discipline, our Heavenly Father is no different, in fact, I think He’s a little bit better at it but I'm biased because I already know.  God loves you and He hears the cries of your heart.  He’s with you and He will never leave you nor forsake you, just trust Him.
 
Here are some of the photos I took at the Martin Luther King Breakfast and if you’d like to watch the rebroadcast of the event you can click here. 

---