July 2018 – Creative Prayer Coach

Look for the yellow arrow that marks where my random thought occurred.

About a week and a half ago, David and I were out driving around Palm Springs. Our journey took us back to the Indian Canyons entrance. This is a place we often drive to in the evening when it is quiet. The view from there is breathtaking, with a quiet peacefulness that permeates right into your being. That particular night, as our car coasted back out of the area, I had a random thought pass through my head as I looked out at all the dry brush – “It would be really bad if this caught on fire.” Though I didn’t say a formal prayer, when a random thought like that goes through my head, I generally ask God to intervene.
Three days later, when it was 119 degrees out, the scent of smoke started pouring through our air conditioning system. At first, I thought it was someone barbecuing, since it had that nice Mesquite smell, but I quickly realized that it was a brush fire. Our house is about 5 minutes from the spot where I had that random thought and it was now on fire. This time, God got my full attention and I prayed for the people fighting the fire, the people who live in the area, and that the fire would not spread.
Over the next three days, the wind kicked up and included a haboob (a major dust storm). Then an unusually high humidity level settled in, holding the dust and smoke close to the ground, and decreasing the normal 20+ miles of visibility down to less than a mile, as the fire burned on. Based on what I am describing, you might think that this fire would be completely out of control and burning through acres of land; however, that is not the case. The damage was limited to approximately 80 acres, one fire fighter with minor heat exhaustion and three “out-buildings” on the Andreas Ranch. (Yep, I have a special affinity to that land – just one apostrophe short of me owning it.) Though I know of and appreciate all the fire fighters, from all of the different governmental agencies that were involved in the effort to squelch this fire, both from land and air, I have to think that God did intervene. Even in bad situations, you can find God working if you are hunting for Him.

The Image Implanted on My Heart and Mind

Do you ever have a day when you think, “What am I doing here?” I had one of those recently. In fact, I was kind of whiny about it. “Why, God? Why me? Why this city? What is the purpose of it all?” Fortunately, it was a day when I was meeting with my Breakfast and Bible Study group, which meant I didn’t have too much time to wallow. Let’s just say, I was distracted enough to be looking out the window when – WHAM – God hit me over the head with the answer. I had been looking at it for over a year, but never really perceiving it. There before my eyes was the image I had been drawing all my life – mountains with a river-like cut down the center of them that leads to an oasis of color – sometimes water and sometimes field of green. I also realized that the drawings were always drawn from the perspective of an eagle looking out at the horizon from a lofty place. On this day, I realized I was looking at the picture from that exact angle. It felt like God was showing me that He had prepared this place and this time for me from early childhood. This was not an accident or something I just wanted to have happen – it was planned way in advance, so that I could have a reminder that I was in the middle of God’s plan for my life. That doesn’t mean that I won’t still have “What am I doing here?” days, but I now have a deep conviction that I am in the right place, even if I have not yet perceived all the details. I’m confident that, at the right time, God will reveal the next step in what I am doing here! How about you? Are you seeing, but not perceiving, God’s answers right in front of you?