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"You really said those words?  You really prayed for a Grandma??"

Spoken by my husband as I explained to him the miracle that seemed to be unfolding before us. 

Yes, I had prayed for a Grandma.   I've been praying for one almost daily for months.  I just figured there must be someone out there that really needs a family to be involved in, and I could really use another adult around the house.  So I was praying for some kind of win-win.  And even I had felt a little silly at times and wondered if it was okay to pray for that. 
(I couldn't help but picture Alice from the Brady Bunch...heavenly...)
But I was willing to settle for anyone who would be excited for some kids to love.

Dallin invited one of his return-missionary scouts for Sunday dinner.  As we asked him about his family, we could see that things were pretty bleak.  This was heartbreaking as Dallin had truly loved this young man and his brother through their adolescence and onto and through their missions.  They were adopted as toddlers by a single woman whose birth children were already grown.  We had loved this little family and the goodness they brought to our ward.  When he described his mom's current difficulty and depression from a recent divorce, I wondered if my prayer was answered.  I talked to Dallin about it that night and prayed some more about it and developed a bit of a plan.

You can imagine the doubts that surfaced from my plan.  I had no phone number or address, though I had been to her house once before.  I had only spoken to her briefly on a couple of occasions.  I had no idea what condition she would be in when I arrived, or how much coaxing I would need to do to get her to talk to me or let me try to help her.  I could have talked myself out of it a thousand times.  I wondered at myself as I cut flowers from our yard and put them in a vase for her.  I mustered my courage and hopped in my van, telling my kids I didn't really know when I would be back.  I drove around her neighborhood until I spotted her house and pulled into the driveway.  Deep breath.  It looked like the front door was opened, letting the cool spring air come in through the screen.  That was a good sign.

She was up and dressed and let me come right in.  She opened her heart to me and the conversation was comfortable and natural.  The story was sad--the health problems, the recent difficult marriage, the struggles of her children.  Her loneliness and expressions of feeling that her life was sort of pointless.  Then she looked at me and said, "I should be the one listening to someone's troubles.  I know service would help."  I told her I had a proposal to make:  I had been praying for a grandma.
"That's perfect!"  She said. 

When she came to visit a few days later, the kids were absolutely thrilled!  They ate up all the attention and the stories.  She shared so much with them, including her conversion story.  She bore such a sweet testimony to Daisy about feeling empty and having the Holy Spirit fill her up.  It was wonderful and the kids can't wait for her to come back. 

God answers prayers.

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