Skip to main content

A Simple Prayer

By Peggy Porter

My son Gilbert was eight years old and had been in Cub Scouts only a short time. During one of his meetings he was handed a sheet of paper, a block of wood and four tires and told to return home and give all to"dad."

That was not an easy task for Gilbert to do. Dad was not receptive to doing things with his son. But Gilbert tried. Dad read the paper and scoffed at the idea of making a pine wood derby car with his young,eager son. The block of wood remained untouched as the weeks passed.

Finally, mom stepped in to see if I could figure this all out. The project began. Having no carpentry skills, I decided it would be best if I simply read the directions and let Gilbert do the work. And he did. I read aloud the measurements, the rules of what we could do and what we couldn't do. Within days his block of wood was turning into a pinewood derby car.A little lopsided, but looking great (at least through the eyes of mom).

Gilbert had not seen any of the other kids cars and was feeling pretty proud of his "Blue Lightning," the pride that comes with knowing you did something on your own.

Then the big night came. With his blue pinewood derby in his hand and pride in his heart we headed to the big race. Once there my little one's pride turned to humility. Gilbert's car was obviously the only car made entirely on his own. All the other cars were a father-son partnership, with cool paint jobs and sleek body styles made for speed.

A few of the boys giggled as they looked at Gilbert's, lopsided, wobbly, unattractive vehicle. To add to the humility Gilbert was the only boy without a man at his side. A couple of the boys who were from single parent homes at least had an uncle or grandfather by their side, Gilbert had "mom."

As the race began it was done in elimination fashion. You kept racing as long as you were the winner. One by one the cars raced down the finely sanded ramp. Finally it was between Gilbert and the sleekest, fastest looking car there. As the last race was about to begin, my wide eyed, shy eight year old ask if they could stop the race for a minute, because he wanted to pray.

The race stopped.

Gilbert hit his knees clutching his funny looking block of wood between his hands. With a wrinkled brow he set to converse with his Father. He prayed in earnest for a very long minute and a half. Then he stood, smile on his face and announced, 'Okay, I am ready."

As the crowd cheered, a boy named Tommy stood with his father as their car sped down the ramp. Gilbert stood with his Father within his heart and watched his block of wood wobble down the ramp with surprisingly great speed and rushed over the finish line a fraction of a second before Tommy's car.

Gilbert leaped into the air with a loud "Thank you" as the crowd roared in approval. The Scout Master came up to Gilbert with microphone in hand and asked the obvious question, "So you prayed to win, huh,Gilbert?" To which my young son answered, "Oh, no sir. That wouldn't be fair to ask God to help you beat someone else. I just asked Him to make it so I don't cry when I lose."

Children seem to have a wisdom far beyond us. Gilbert didn't ask God to win the race, he didn't ask God to fix the out come, Gilbert asked God to give him strength in the outcome. When Gilbert first saw the other cars he didn't cry out to God, "No fair, they had a fathers help." No, he went to his Father for strength. Perhaps we spend too much of our prayer time asking God to rig the race, to make us number one, or too much time asking God to remove us from the struggle, when we should be seeking God's strength to get through the struggle. "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Philippines 4:13

Gilbert's simple prayer spoke volumes to those present that night. He never doubted that God would indeed answer his request. He didn't pray to win, thus hurt someone else, he prayed that God supply the grace to lose with dignity. Gilbert, by his stopping the race to speak to his Father also showed the crowd that he wasn't there without a "dad," but His Father was most definitely there with him. Yes, Gilbert walked away a winner that night, with his Father at his side.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Building Block Graduation Card

Hello, everyone! Melissa here on to share a "building block" style card with you. I made this one graduation themed, since there are a ton of graduations going on right now. Hope you enjoy this card, and are inspired to try it out yourself. Here is the tutorial I followed from Split Coast Stampers. To make it easier, I will give you all the measurements, here. It looks harder than it is, I promise. Start with a piece of cardstock in your desired color that is 5.5 x 10.5. Put the 10.5 inch side along the top of your score board or paper trimmer, and score at 3.5 inches and 7 inches. Fold the first score line in a mountain fold, and the second in a valley fold. You should end up with a "z" fold card. The next part can get a bit tricky, so make sure you watch the video to fully understand what I am about to explain. On the back side of the "valley" fold, take a ruler and pencil and mark these measurements: 3/8 1 3/8 1 5/8 2 5/8 2 7/8 3 7/8 ...

Marks Finest Papers May Blog Hop (featuring Oriental Joy)

Welcome to the Marks Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company May Blog Hop!  This month's New Stamp Set Releases are   Featured  May 14 Oriental Joy For my Oriental Joy, I decided to use a medium that brings me joy, lol....my gold embossing powder!  So with heat embossing and a piece of 4x6 designer matte paper, I made this card. I really like how simple and neat, it turned out. Stamp set used: Oriental Joy Please stop back tomorrow to check out my next project.   Featured  May 15 Tiger Lily & Tree Frogs Featured   May 16 Bearded Iris  Please  hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp  sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each  day for more chances to win! (You do NOT have to comment on all the  blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly!) All six winners will be  announced on  May 17, 2014 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go ...

Marks Finest Papers May Blog Hop (featuring Kiss Me & Plywood)

Welcome to the Marks Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company May Blog Hop!  This month's New Stamp Set Releases are   Featured  May 13 Kiss Me &  Plywood  For the first time, I decided to use both stamp sets together. I wanted to make a more "manly" pop box card that is all the rage right now. I went horizontal with my box and cut off the side flaps. Using clear acetate, I have my frog up in the "air". I think it turned out great.  I am gonna sent this to Africa to my BIL. He and my sister are missionaries there for another year. Here are the stamp sets used for this card: Kiss Me Plywood Please stop back to see my other projects for these dates! Featured  May 14 Oriental Joy   Featured  May 15 Tiger Lily & Tree Frogs Featured   May 16 Bearded Iris  Please  hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp  sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each  day for mo...