Spiritual Strength Part 5

This experience just happened yesterday.  It is a lesson I knew and had heard my whole life, but I understood it with my heart yesterday.  For Lauren's birthday we got a game called Skylander that comes with little action figures that can be activated in the game.  We gave one to Lauren and we have one for the other kids to receive on their birthdays and then we have one that they can earn by doing a special job.  If the kids aren't obedient and kind they lose their distinction as a portal master and the figurine is taken away until they become a good portal master again.  Hopefully some good motivation will come from this.  I have never seen Spencer so eager to do a job before. 

Anyway, Spencer did a special job, picking up a winter's worth of fallen pine cones, and earned a figure.  He loves it.  He plays so many little games with it outside of the video game.  But, yesterday morning he could not find his figure or Ben's figure.  He told me where he last remembered putting it and it wasn't there.  We started to look and after a few minutes I knew it was really lost because usually we find his things quickly.  They are just in his room and he hasn't checked thoroughly.  Well I checked with him and we still hadn't found it so we began an extensive check of the house.  Spencer even went searching into rooms I knew he never took the toys into before.  I knew this figure meant a lot to him and I wanted to find it for Spencer. 

I decided to say a prayer and ask for help to find this toy.  Seemed silly to pray for help looking for a toy, but I remembered how the Lord helped me find my Dignitet so I knew He would help us.  After I prayed I went up to Spencer's room again.  I looked in his closet and didn't see them, but as I stood there the thought came forcefully that if I didn't find the toys right away it was ok.  It didn't mean God hadn't heard my prayer.  It didn't mean He wasn't going to answer my prayer.  It simply meant it wasn't time to find the toy yet but it would be found.  I have known this for years, especially after a talk in conference by Elder Scott I knew that sometimes we have to wait for answers.  Somehow, though, this thought was different.  I never understood until that moment.  I realized that often when no answer is quickly forth coming my first thought is that my prayer wasn't heard.  I then have to reaffirm to myself by remembering experiences in my life that God is real and did hear my prayer.  I think I needed to fully understand that having to wait for an answer doesn't diminish God's power, nor my ability to receive answers.  It just means I need to wait. 

Well, we had a birthday party and a barbecue that day so it was busy but every free moment we looked for these figures.  Finally at night I looked at Ben and said "I don't know where they could be.  We have looked everywhere.  Where can they be hiding?"  Then I went back to Spencer's room and I looked in the closet again.  I noticed a toy he may have played with while playing with figures so I knelt to investigate.  Nothing, but I decided to move his laundry basket over a bit for a better look.  As I pushed the laundry basket I heard a noise.  I pulled the laundry basket out and there were the figures.  They were there the whole time even when I had my thought about how it was ok to not find them right away.  That it wasn't the right time.  The Lord truly knows what He is doing and sometimes I think He even has a sense of humor about it.  I'm grateful for another reminder that He is present in my life and that sometimes I just need to wait because the answer or desire will be granted, but the time just isn't right.