July 26, 2006
This past weekend, July 22-23, My brother Tom and his wife Jenn took their daughter Olivia to the church camp that we have been attending each year since we were little. You can read Tommy's update about their time there. It was really neat the way God worked things out for them. Jenn is a cheerleading coach for the high school and cheerleading camp was to start Monday the 23, and she would be staying with the girls in the dorms throughout the week. On Sunday night, just before they went to bed, Jenn noticed the center stone on her engagement ring was gone! The whole diamond and prongs came right off the ring she had been wearing. Now, Tommy had picked out this ring for her by himself about six years ago. More than anything, there is a sentimental attachment to your wedding rings, so you can understand how upset Tom and Jenn were. Tommy called everywhere that they had been, including camp. I knew if it was lost there that it would take a miracle for them to find it. I was so mad at Satan for casting a negative shadow on the really great weekend they had at camp. On Monday, My mom dropped Olivia off at Tommy's house for the day. Tommy had plans to tear the house apart looking for this ring. Olivia looked at him and said " You can't look for mommy's ring all by yourself, you silly goose! When Grandma goes home, I will help you and we will look for it together!" This was becoming an important mission for everyone! That evening, my mom went to see Jeff and proceeded to tell him the story. Immediately, Jeff said to my mom, "Go get Kaylee!". My mom went outside and called for Kaylee. On her way in, she whispered to my mom, "Am I in trouble??" My mom smiled and said no, that her dad just wanted to talk to her. When Kaylee got to his room, Jeff said "Kaylee, Jenn lost her wedding ring. I want you to pray that she will find it. Whenever we lose anything at home, we have you pray and we always find it." Kaylee prayed right then and there for Jenn to find her ring. A few hours later, Tommy called my mom's cell phone. Kaylee didn't hesitate to say, "Tommy's calling to tell you he found the ring." That was not the reason for this call, but Kaylee had so much faith in what she prayed for, she believed God would provide. The next day, Jenn called my mom from cheerleading camp, and told my mom that she found the ring on top of one of her shirts in her suitcase! It was almost as if it had just been placed there! My mom called Kaylee and said " Do you know why I am calling?" Kaylee said "Because they found her ring". Never once did she doubt it. When I first thought about this story, I thanked God that He was faithful to Kaylee, that he showed her he does answer prayer. But the more I thought about it, I realized Kaylee already had that faith, believing in what she prayed for. It was the rest of us that doubted that they would find it. Here we are in the middle of this battle where it takes faith the whole way through, and God shows us He still cares about the little things too. He is faithful to us, no matter how big or small the request.