Unanswered Prayers
As Garth Brooks sings, "Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers. Remember when you're talking to the man upstairs, that just because He doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care." Choice of words aside, I do love that song. I've had a lot of "unanswered" prayers. Really, the answer was just, "NO!" And, you know what? "No" was the right answer in every situation. I prayed to marry someone who, in hindsight, wasn't the right one for me. I prayed for God to take away my tears before I learned why God gave them to me. I prayed to be in control.

God's answers are better than my plans. He meets my deepest desires - even those that are unknown to me. But He often uses my situation to teach me, and were I given what I asked for immediately, I would not be in a place to learn the lesson. Like rain, our desires are often most appreciated after a long, hot dry spell. We learn in the midst of the drought why the rain is a blessing and why it is necessary. When the rain comes after a drought, we have joy. God does not give us everything we want because He loves us. He knows better.