By Rosie Preston
I’ve sometimes wondered why some prayers are answered and some are not.
There have been many situations I prayed for and I’ve probably asked forgiveness too many times because it’s hard to accept. It’s especially hard to accept if you have family and friends to remind you! That should be humorous, but it’s often not the case.
When I was around 12 years old, my daddy bought me and my sisters a new blue bicycle. We were so proud of it. A slight problem was that sometimes the brakes would not work. When I think about it now, I wonder why my dad didn’t take the bike back to the store where he purchased it.
One day I was riding the bike down Harts Avenue where I lived when the brakes failed. I was terrified and kept pumping the brakes, to no avail. I had a quick decision to make – should I ride into Noccalula Road, where there was a lot of traffic and a rock wall, or would I turn left into our driveway, which was also downhill?
I silently prayed, and just before I got to our driveway, the brakes started working. I was only seconds away from what could have been a horrible disaster.
When I was a teenager at the beach, it looked as if the waves were calm, so I ventured out further into the water than I realized on an air mattress. Suddenly a six-foot wave crashed over me. My hand went through the air mattress, and as I tried to get to safety, more waves were knocking me down. A man who had witnessed what was happening came into the water and helped me! I learned a lot that day, not the least that the height of waves can change in an instant.
Just a few months ago, I was walking in my neighborhood when two pit bull dogs came running towards me. My knees turned to jelly when a lady came out of her house and called the dogs home. I’ve been afraid of large dogs since I was a little girl, when we had a neighbor who owned a Boxer that was not trustworthy. Almost every week, the boxer came to our house and attacked our Collie. The Boxer never injured my dog like it could have. I was a few seconds away from interfering in a dog fight!
The strangest thing I ever experienced happened about a year ago. I was looking into my glass photo cabinet when I saw a pretty ring. I thought it must be one that one of my children had gotten in a toy box that you put 50 cents in and get a surprise. I put on that ring and kept wearing it.
I recently visited my friend Sandra, who works at a pawn shop. She asked about the ring, and I told her how I’d found it. She asked me if I knew it was rose gold. I did not. She then cleaned and weighed the ring and said it has a value of over $500. I nearly fainted, because I had no idea how that ring found its way inside my cabinet!
I had some jewelry stolen a couple of years ago, and I wondered if this ring was something beautiful that brought me some joy! My opinion is if you have something good happen that you did not expect, accept it as a miracle or a blessing, and be very thankful.
When you feel down and out, which happens to all of us on occasion, remember that you are loved and are a miracle. You are a person created by a God who loves and cares about you, no matter what you are dealing with. Also know that we are not promised a rose garden. Everyone rose has its thorns!
Keep smiling, Rosie
Contact Rosie Preston at rosie.preston@yahoo.com.