Three Weeks of Three Answered Prayers

"...they should always pray and not give up." Luke 18:1

Wow! What a whirlwind the last few weeks have been! While I have yearned to share my thoughts with each of you lately, I have simply been too busy to carve out writing time. Hopefully, things are settling a bit :-)

At the end of March, my momma came for a long overdue visit! She enjoyed bonding with Caleb and joining us in our normal activities, but she unexpectedly heard the Lord tell her that she needed to move here! Her refreshing vacation quickly turned into a time of prayer, deep conversations, and the beginnings of preparations to see where this new adventure should start. The details are far from organized, but it was incredible to hear my mother respond to the Lord's prompting in her life! And, the thought of a "Deeda" (Caleb's name for Grandma!) just down the road doesn't sound too shabby! We have lived away from all family for nearly seven years...we need a babysitter!!! Just kidding, momma :-) Sort of...

The day my mom left, God gave my husband and I a strong word about our next step. It's time to sell our house. No doubt about it. We both heard the direction. So...last Thursday we met with our realtor to get the ball rolling. While I know God has something great for us, we don't know what it is! We don't have a new house picked out, we've thought about building but don't feel ready, and the rental market has skyrocketed in recent months...thereby making it a poor financial decision to rent unless absolutely necessary. We've toyed with selling our house for a year, but it finally feels right to do it. Now, please pray for my sanity as I attempt to turn our house into a "model home" while raising a toddler. Sheesh! How do people do this?! 

Then...this past weekend was the icing on the (wedding!) cake for all of our recent excitement. We welcomed friends, and friends of friends, from afar into our home while my best friend's boyfriend prepared to pop the question! I'm telling you, mommas...this one is a story for the books! This proposal was months in the making. He thought of everything from the perfect place to do it (the bridge overlooking the lake of the prestigious Broadmoor hotel!), to who should be there (her best friends, and his best friends...most of whom do not live in Colorado!), to what the ring would look like (it's a sparkler, to say the least!), to how to capture the moment perfectly (oh yes...he hired a photographer to shoot pictures as it happened and do a round of engagement pictures in Colorado!), and a million other things. Many secrets, sneaky phone calls and texts, and sharing of specific plans with others while leaving the soon-to-bride out of the loop later, she said yes!!! All of his plans went off without a hitch, and they are already looking forward to their winter wedding. Patrick and I were blessed to be a part of the weekend of festivities, and we couldn't be happier for Anna and Ben. Speaking of the happy couple...here are a few pictures of the special moment!

The moment he popped the question!

She turns around and realizes all of their friends had witnessed the engagement!

They celebrate with those who love them so dearly...now WHAT was I doing on my phone?!?

The happy couple...we are soooooo thrilled for you both, Anna and Ben!

So, what do these three momentous happenings in the McNamee home have to do with the verse at the beginning of my post? Each one of these precious occurrences are intentional answers to prayer from our heavenly Father!

Over the past year, my mom has ventured through a season of wondering "what's next?" She has yearned for God to give her direction, but it wasn't until an innocent trip to see her grandson that He finally spoke loud and clear. She had fervently prayed for answers to many life questions, and He had chosen to remain silent. I imagine that years from now, she will look back on the past year as an intense class on learning to trust Him when we don't even know what the next day will hold. I am so excited for her and her next steps. She didn't give up on prayer, and He never gave up on her!

I have also shared with you our struggle over where we should live! We purchased this house before we knew I was pregnant, and we were both working full-time. Jog ahead a few months, and we have a very big boy on the way, and the leading from God for me to begin a chapter of life as a SAHM. Thankfully, He faithfully showed us how to save, make wise financial choices, and live on less than what we make. We have been able to comfortably stay in this house, but it stretches us more than we would like. My husband and I have prayed (repeatedly!) for an answer as to what to do. He was faithful to tell us to stay but that this would not be our forever home. Now that He has opened the door for us to sell, giving us and our loyal realtor peace that this is the right time to move forward, we couldn't be happier with our decision. We didn't give up on prayer, and He never gave up on us!

Finally, my friend Anna and I have prayed for her husband for years. Since the day we met in pre-school, we have truly been sisters to one another. We have laughed together, cried together, and we did every life event within a few months of each other (no joke!) until the day I met my husband. My life then took off with an engagement, wedding planning, our wedding, several moves, a pregnancy, our healthy baby boy, and my career move to the home. Anna was there every, single step of the way...throwing wedding showers, baby showers, covering me with prayer, celebrating two pink lines on a pregnancy test to holding our son, only a few hours old. While we both had always envisioned us doing these huge life events together, she never batted an eye at the chance to share my blessings with me. And then, one hot June day of last year, she announced to me that she had met the cutest boy from Canadian, TX! Um, where? Just know it's a tiny town in the panhandle :-) Their romance has blossomed into a beautiful love story over the past nine months, and I know that God has blessings planned for sweet Anna and Benjamin that they cannot even fathom. After many years of prayer, God has provided a life for my dearest friend that we never could have imagine, but is far better than we could have dreamt. I am so thrilled to say that it is her turn, and I am first in line to celebrate with her every step of the way. We didn't give up on praying for a Godly man who would one day be her husband, and God never gave up on exceeding our expectations.

Prayer changes everything, mommies. Yes, an answer can be painfully slow in coming, but looking at the above situations, imagine how less meaningful they would have been had we not gone through seasons of drought. He knows what He's doing. He always knows what He's doing! And while the past few weeks have made for one tired SAHM, I wouldn't change them for the world.

It's good to be back. See you tomorrow :-)