Answered Prayers at the County Fair

Hello, tender friends!

Bumper cars. The Ferris Wheel. Fun house mirrors. Flashing lights. Funnel cake. Blooming onions.

Okay, you know by now that there’s no way that we ate funnel cake or blooming onions, but the smell was nice. That’s one of those iconic fair savory smells, isn’t it?

We’ve taken Cub to the local fair every year for the past 3 years so he can have the experience of festivity and fun. I’m also always looking to recover a bit of that familiar magic of loving rollercoasters for myself.

Last year, the first year that Cub was old enough to go on any rides, we almost missed out on all the fun.

We started off slow with a gentle whirl on the Ferris wheel. Cub hated it. He cried, “Get me down! I want to go home!” We tried to watch an acrobatic show, and he cried and said he wanted to go home again. Then we tried the teacup ride with no spinning, and he was miserable.

“He’s not having a good time. Let’s just go home,” Anthony said.

I looked at Cub. His face was red and sweaty. The poor kid was miserable. But I felt like I was supposed to pray. So I did. Okay God, you know what’s best for him. What can I do to make him have a good time? Or should we just go home?

The word came immediately: Exposure.

I don’t really know why God so often uses such short phrases or single words when we’re talking. I always know exactly what He means, but I also look forward to a longer and more relaxed conversation in heaven.

In this case, I knew that God was telling me that it was in Cub’s best interests to remain at the fair for him to be exposed to the experience. I normally depend on Anthony for these kinds of words, but I felt confident in what I had heard and told him. He said, “If that’s what you heard, then we’ll stay for a little while.”

The atmosphere shifted after I prayed. A little while turned into a few hours. The child who had begun our day crying over the Ferris Wheel ride and asking to go home wanted to go on every single ride by the time we were leaving.

The dragon roller coaster no longer terrified him. Instead, he took his hands off the bars and started pumping his arms and yelling, ” Go, dragon!”

(This is us on the dragon roller coaster this weekend. Anthony tried to get the dragon in the picture, but space was tight).

Isn’t that another one of Yahweh’s miracles, turning fear and terror into delight?

After each ride this year, I asked Cub, “Te ha gustado?” (Spanish for, “Did you like it?”) He said, “Si, mucho!” (“Yes, a lot!)

That’s the dialogue I hope to have with God when I get to heaven. God says, “Did you like it down there on Earth?” And after a lifetime of Him working miracles of turning my fears into delights so I can fully participate in His adventure, I can say, “Yes, a lot!”

So that was our delightful weekend adventure, thanks to the answered prayer last year. Thank you, Yahweh, for the miracles only you can do.

(And thank you to my love, for showing Cub how to work all the model heavy equipment they had at the fair, as only you can do).

That’s all for today, tender friends! Thank you for stopping by! To plan your readership, I’ll be sharing my zucchini soup recipe on Thursday. Next Monday, I’ll be sharing my appreciation for weeds and weeding. Yes, you read that right. I hate weeding, but the health benefits help me to embrace it….or at least muster up something close to gratitude as I work in the blazing sun with sweat dripping down my back.

See you Thursday!

Thank you for sharing!

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