Bethany, a future vision, and overflowing cups

Late Sunday night, my mom, Keona, Amy and myself returned from a wonderful time in Louisiana at Bethany World Prayer Center. This great missions church was holding their first women's conference and I had the joy of participating as a speaker. These women were a joy! Thank you Pastor Melanie, Ellen, Kevin, Angie, Jenny, Billy, Spencer, Beth, Nicole and all the many new friends who made the conference such a delight! Keona participated in the children's program and asked if we could move there!

Then on the way home...my computer died (for the third time in as many weeks), the rental van blew it's transmission as mom was driving it back to turn it in, the folks at the rental place okayed mom's suggestion to leave the keys in the van and lock it...but then charged us for Mr. Pop-A-Lock (when they didn't have an extra key) AND an extra day rental since they didn't inspect it until after it was towed to the shop. Yes, I had a polite but firm discussion with the manager :-). Yes, the extra charges are being removed...

Coming home I'm happily drowning in hugs and kisses from the boys. We're unpacking and storing all the new Anonymous: Jesus' Hidden Years and Yours DVDs, bible studies, and journals (they're in!!!). I'm gearing up to write like the wind in August. And Jonathan has added a new ending to his usual nighttime prayer.

For years, Jonathan has ended his day with, "And Jesus, please forgive me of my sins and let my dreams be about things I do like, not about things that I don't like. Amen." But for the past two nights he has been tagging on, "And please, please, give me a future vision."

"That's a beautiful prayer buddy. What does it mean to you?"

"I want Jesus to give me a vision of the future, to show me what he wants me to do in life. How big is that cup mom?"

Sidebar. Long ago I used an illustration of a cup under a dripping faucet to demonstrate that prayers are always heard ("caught") by God and we never know when one more prayer will cause the cup to overflow and contribute to an answer...so we should follow Jesus' encouragement and never stop asking or praying.

"Well, buddy, I really don't know how big that cup is but I do know that God hears each prayer. Do you know how long I prayed for you? Seven years. For seven years I asked Jesus to send me a son."

"Wow. Seven years. That's a BIG cup! Thanks mom. Thanks for persevering."

I stroke his hair as he falls asleep. Listening to his steady breathing I pray for his "future vision" knowing that every drop, every prayer, makes a difference.