answered prayer

Uneclipsed: When God’s Glory Intersects Our Story

~ Heather Davis ~ 6 Comments

I want to tell you a true story about the small-but-not-small ways God showed up during a recent trip. It really began a couple of years ago when I lined up a VRBO map and map of the path of totality for the April 8, 2024 eclipse. Already, bookings were slim around the major cities within an eight hour drive of my home, so I pored over the maps, sifted through rentals in obscure towns in search of a spot that met the following criteria:

  • Two bedrooms (my mama was coming with us)
  • Dog-friendly
  • Reasonably priced
  • A good view of the sky (i.e. – no tree cover)
  • As close to the center of the path of totality as possible

I found a cabin in Calico Rock, Arkansas that looked promising and booked it, hoping the online photos were accurate. At the last moment, an opportunity arose to leave a day early, and by the grace of God, all the loose ends fit. And a string of totally unmerited blessings commenced.

First, we arrived in the little town around 8:30 p.m., leaving us without time to make the local grocery. To my hangry husband’s profound relief, we made it to the nearest restaurant seconds before their kitchen closed. Although we technically entered the storefront, called Fricki’s Attic, the owners were kind enough to feed him while my mom and I appreciated the decor kept from the store’s history.

The next morning, I enjoyed a lovely view of the White River while reading my Bible on the back porch. Had I known the area, I could not have chosen a better place to view the eclipse, and I praised God for His goodness in allowing this rather silly and yet meaningful (to me) grace.

But some of my health issues were paying a visit and I wasn’t feeling up to snuff. I confess I allowed it to sour my attitude a bit. As I walked my dog, I found myself complaining to the Lord concerning two particular prayers I have been lifting up for years – one of them nearly 20 years. In my foul mood, I accused the Almighty of granting all sorts of requests except those that concern me the most deeply; the spiritual health & well-being of certain loved ones.

Not the best use of the morning, but there it is in raw detail.

When I returned, we all enjoyed a breakfast with startlingly excellent coffee at the Printing Press Cafe, visited the town’s museum, ducked into various local shops, made a trip to the local grocery, and settled in a bit more. While hubby caught up on some work, mama and I walked back into town. We checked out the “living ghost town” of East Calico Rock and read all the historical signs.

As a phone company retiree, Mama particularly enjoyed reading about old Calico Rock’s telephone exchange, run out of one lady’s house. She could be woken at any time of day or night, knew where the doctors were at any given moment, and had her finger on the pulse of the town in ways foreign to the communications departments of today.

From my comms contract experience, I can say unequivocally that such selfless service may be entirely foreign. I only hope my experience was not representative.

Not the old telephone exchange, but STILL a blast from the past!

During our walk, I chatted about a specific prayer God had answered very affirmatively (I shall not share it here because it involves someone else’s story), and it hit me: He absolutely DOES answer prayers concerning the spiritual health of those I love. I had accused Him falsely, blind to His answers probably because they aren’t as comprehensive and swift as my impatient soul prefers. By the end of our walk, He’d reminded me of at least one more such answer. Yours truly humbly acknowledged His glory and repented of my fallaciousness.

There had been rumors of possible overcast skies on eclipse day, but the day dawned sunny and gorgeous. We enjoyed a lazy morning, walked hakelev and settled in on the porch to wait for the big event. A great blue heron and a pair of bald eagles kept us entertained, and my hubs discovered the nest of an eastern phoebe just beneath the deck.

And God’s mercy continued. The sky remained devoid of clouds. I was beyond thrilled at the chance to see a total solar eclipse, enjoying the cool air and the unusual hush of the birds and insects.

After the main event, all of us (sans pooch) walked back to town and made a proper visit to the “speakeasy” that saved us all from certain hangriness late Saturday night. We bypassed the entrance to Fricki’s Attic and entered Juniper’s Back Door where we enjoyed a delicious late lunch in their eclectic dining area. In the photo, you can see the stage where live music is played on weekend nights.

The rest of the day was relaxing on the back porch, drinking in the views, and feeling gratitude that all the preparation, money, and time spent were not for nothing. I was delighted with Calico Rock and everything about the trip. Even more, I was beyond thankful for a God who doesn’t leave me stewing in my own bitter thoughts but who gently reminds me that I am the one who drifts away; He never does.

I enjoyed the last sunset at our lovely getaway cabin in Calico Rock before preparing to pack up and leave the next morning.

The day came to head home. One hour into our 6.5-hour drive home, we were hit at an intersection as my husband turned onto one of our many interchanges heading home. Once again, God’s mercy spilled out all over us.

The young man who hit us parked and walked across the busy highway, very apologetic and completely taking responsibility for his part in the accident – a very pleasant surprise. Before he’d spoken more than a handful of words, an officer who had been passing by was on the scene with his lights on, keeping traffic at bay.

No one was hurt, for which I am incredibly thankful.

In no time, our car was loaded onto a tow truck. My husband went with the tow guy who offered him a lift to a local car rental place. Meanwhile, the officer gave me and pooch a lift to a safer place to wait while another part-time fireman and part-time youth pastor gave Mama a ride to the same spot.

The officer and I may have had a little too much fun with the dog in the back of the squad car…

This one’s a real animal, Chief
Who’s a Bad Boy??

Our vehicle, unfortunately, is not drivable.

Now, one might imagine finding a rental car to get three adults, a 65-pound dog, and all our luggage back to Tennessee in the middle of nowhere would be a hard ask. I suppose it is, but not for my God – who, by the way, had mercy on me despite my self focused complaints on our first morning away. The whole delay took less than four hours, including a stop for lunch. Plus, everyone was so kind, we felt nothing more than mildly inconvenienced.

Of course, my husband and I will continue to be mildly inconvenienced for about a month of car sharing. We’ll be dealing with insurance and the like over the phone, and when the repairs have been made, we have a trip to Batesville, AR to plan. But at least we know God will be with us then, too.

And the dog? He thought this last leg of our journey was the best trip ever. Five and a half hours of cuddle time? Yes, please!

So believer, if you are weary, discouraged, or just plain sick of waiting on God, don’t forget that His timing is perfect. And look for small, everyday mercies while you wait. I guarantee you’ll find more than enough to fill your heart with joy. 

O Lord, hear my voice! 
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! 
If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 
But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. 
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 
my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. 
(Psalms 130:2-6)

M.E. and Me

~ Heather Davis ~ 10 Comments 
Come and hear, all you who fear God, 
and I will tell what he has done for my soul. 
I cried to him with my mouth, 
and high praise was on my tongue. 
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, 
the Lord would not have listened. 
But truly God has listened; 
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
(Psalm 66:16-19)

Ever get what you asked for but it looked so different from what you imagined that it took you some time to realize it? This is one of my answered prayers, albeit an answer I’ve tried to deny…

I’m starting to accumulate quite a number of letters beside my name. Heather Davis; IBS, ME/CFS… It’s too bad they are all diagnoses instead of degrees. C’est la vie!

The last one, ME/CFS, has actually been on my chart for several years now. It stands for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It’s also known as Systemic Exercise Intolerance Disease or Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome, but most people just call it Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. CFS for short.

It’s a diagnosis I refused to submit to for years, mainly because it always seemed like a description rather than a diagnosis. I suppose that’s why some doctors are switching to the other, more medical-sounding names. But of course, once a thing has been around in the public consciousness for a time, it’s difficult to change it.

For me, it is a humbling diagnosis. However, now that my migraines have been under control for several months, it’s become extremely clear there’s another issue behind the insane bouts of fatigue that have plagued me for much of my adulthood.

A primary reason I’ve been refusing to accept this diagnosis is… well, if I’m honest, it’s pride. CFS hurts my pride.

You see, a hallmark of CFS is what the docs call Post-Exertional Malaise, which basically means if I work out too hard or even overextend what little grey matter migraine has left to me, I crash.

And for this one-time fitness nut, that’s a bit hard to swallow.

Before I had children, I was a gym rat. When children came, I found other ways to work out at home with freeweights, video workouts, you name it. In my thirties, I hit a personal fitness best after going through the P90-X program.

Ever since migraines came in and stole the body I worked so hard to attain, I’ve planned on regaining it; especially after a friend celebrated her 50th by sporting a STUNNING physique! I wanted to rise to the challenge she offered.

A few years ago, I set my mind to accomplish this. I’m in my forties, so I stared slow. After walking for a bit, maybe a few days of light weights, I decided the time had come to ramp things up. In the past, increased intensity brought increased energy.

Not anymore. Instead, I couldn’t wake up the next day. I crashed, not for a day but more like a week.

Thinking it was a fluke, I tried again. And again. And a sad number of “agains” until I had to realize something wasn’t right.

It just isn’t normal to feel like you have a case of the flu that comes and goes, getting worse every time you exercise vigorously! But it is normal for CFS. Hurrah.

So, friends, there’s a bit of an update. It keeps me from ever catching up, but I’m trying to learn to live within new limits. Unfortunately for me, I’m a slow learner AND a terrible patient (according to my husband – pray for him!).

And I can’t complain. Honestly. After all, this is an answer to my own prayer.

Admittedly, God’s answer isn’t playing out as I imagined, but years ago I did ask Him to strip away every single thing that distracted me from Him.

Apparently being uber-fit was one of those things.

So today, I give thanks to God who truly does answer all our prayers and give us everything we need. Which is Himself, by the way. He is all I really need. And anything I need to endure to get closer to Him is worth it.

Even pain. Even CFS. 

Whom have I in heaven but you? 
And there is nothing on earth that I desire 
besides you. 
My flesh and my heart may fail, 
but God is the strength of my heart 
and my portion forever.
(Psalms 73:25-26)

When God Speaks

~ Heather Davis ~ 4 Comments

Thus did Moses; as the LORD commanded him, so he did.

Numbers 17:11

One complaint I’ve heard among unbelievers – including yours truly in the years before God got through to my stubborn heart -is that prayer doesn’t “work.”

I confess I only have my own pre-Christ experience to draw from when I’m breaking that phrase apart. However, what I meant at the time (and what I think most unbelievers mean today) is that their prayers do not achieve the results they want.

Of course, if every prayer whispered or shouted resulted in a concrete and predictable outcome, prayer would merely be the coinage for the vending machine on high. But that’s a rant for another day, perhaps.

My prayer habits after nearly two decades of following Christ are markedly different then the demands I haughtily tossed at the Most High back in my arrogant youth. During those days, I evidently thought that I, the creation, had some inalienable right to order my Creator around. Talk about role reversal!

It can be argued that Moses made his share of bold and unseemly comments and requests. Especially for a person who had witnessed several mind-boggling displays of power, the guy had a bit of steel in him when it came to talking with the Lord of Hosts.

If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.

Numbers 11:15

Read Exodus and Numbers. There are plenty more. The intriguing thing is, despite Moses’s alarming audacity, God grants a great many of his petitions!

For me on this, my anybody’s-guessth time through the Bible, a refrain of sorts has captured my attention. It always begins with, “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying…” and often ends with a variation on, “…Moses did as the Lord commanded him.”

Another way of putting it is the book is full of God’s instruction and Moses’ obedience.

When I think about it in these terms, what I called “prayer” in my unbelieving days – those imperious attempts at imposing my will upon God’s – were highly ignorable. Not because they were bold or demanding, but because there wasn’t a single atom of obedience tied up in them.

Though his start may have been a trifle reluctant, Moses did spend a good portion of his life obeying God. Even then, his disobedience was addressed and dealt with by God. Sin is always serious even if it is seldom.

So when the Lord speaks to us, do we listen and obey? Or are we more apt to filter the words of God, discarding the uncomfortable bits and keeping only the attractive and cozy ones?

If as the Lord commanded does not often appear in the refrain of our lives, why would we expect any of our requests to be granted? And if we aren’t hearing from the Lord at all, we might want to check our obedience and cooperation levels as well.

He is, after all, God. King.Creator. Above all things, He is to be reverenced and obeyed.

In His Time

~ Heather Davis ~ 6 Comments

For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
(Luke 11:10)

For years, a friend and I met weekly at 5:30 am and prayed. We prayed for revival, for for our families, for our churches, for our nation. To be honest, there wasn’t much we left out, and we prayed with open Bibles, starting our sessions off with Scripture and peppering it throughout as the Holy Spirit brought it to mind.

Of the many requests we lifted up, a specific one was on my mind today. But before I tell you that, let me back up a bit to the beginning of this school year.

If you’ve been patient enough to keep up with my ramblings for long, you’ll know that this year marked the first that I did not home school all three kids.  Because of the fact that I had to drive the older kids to their school 30 minutes away, I had to disband my little prayer group. The time just didn’t work out anymore. In fact, two hours on the road each day with squeezing in 7th grade academic and extra curricular activities… well, let’s just say that the time didn’t work out for much of anything.

SpecialNeeds022But for years, one of the many requests we continually brought to the Lord was for
provision for renovations to my friend’s house to accommodate their daughter who has spina bifida. But that kind of renovation is costly and was far out of their budget.

In a brief aside, let me tell you that this family has been through it. Besides the spina bifida and other special needs in one daughter, they also have 3 other children – and the youngest had cancer a few years ago when she was  only two. It’s been an unbelievably long and difficult road for them.

But back to the end of our prayer meetings. . .

This school year was rough on me. Not only was I in a bit of mourning over certain home school plans I had, I was also dealing with an unexpected exacerbation of migraines, thyroid issues, unbelievable fatigue, typical teenager-y stuff, and a seventh grade daughter still home schooling (and after managing my third seventh grader in home school, I will say it is not my favorite age or stage of life).

Oh, and my own stage of life issues. As if the migraine-fatigue isn’t enough…

Basically, by the time the school year was nearing the half-way point, I was over it. All of it. I was frustrated with God and I let Him know. I complained to God that He was not answering my prayers (which, by the way, were more along the lines of please help me with migraines so I can function or help my kids to love God and each other prayers, not I would really like a manicure prayers). I reminded God of the promise I began this post with among others. In short, I had a temper tantrum and pouted.

Then today…

Things are getting better. I’ve had my sulk and moved on, and my Father is so patient with me. He has been reminding me of, well of many things. Some of them I share here as time allows. Others will probably find their way here or into an article somewhere eventually.  But those are stories for another time.

Today at my friend’s house, there were plumbers and HVAC guys doing some work, and another man came to measure the special need child’s reach from her wheelchair in order to begin installing a shower with a movable head and a shower chair. Once done, she can begin to become more independent in her hygiene, which is a pretty important detail for a middle school aged girl.

The renovations are underway. God is providing, just as we had asked Him to do so many times, and He is providing through a ministry known as Tucker’s House. I was so excited for her, but I was humbled by my impatience as well.

Just talking about it reminded me that God does hear our prayers. He does give us what we need. He does provide. He just doesn’t always do it according to our timeline. 

Oh, and guess what? Now that my son has his license and we were able to acquire a vehicle, Lord willing, we will be able to start our prayer meetings again.

Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
Psalms 116:7