When God says No

I came across an article that had something to do with what my bf, Jerry, and I were discussing last night over Greek food. We were mostly talking about life, the wonderful coincidences that happen and how God answers prayers. Instead of posting the article here, I decided to link to it: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/174/story_17460_1.html

To sum up the article, there’s five different ways that God answers prayers:

“No, I love you too much.”
“Yes, but you’ll have to wait.”
“Yes, but quite different from how you thought I would answer.”
“Yes and here’s more!”
“Yes, I thought you’d never ask.”

It’s so true what the article is saying. I find that God answers prayers in so many different ways and sometimes not necessarily in the way we want it or when we want it but it always turns out to be what’s best for us. In many occasions in my life I’ve asked God for something and felt that I was not heard because I didn’t get what I asked for. But when I think about it, it’s not really because He wasn’t listening, it was because He had something better in mind or He was just waiting for the right time.

I remember when I was in highschool, I had a huge crush on this guy (let’s call him Guy #1) and I had prayed for him to like me too. It never happened of course and I was bummed to find out he had his eyes set on someone else. But shortly after, I had become good friends with a guy in my class (let’s call him Guy #2) and eventually he became my first boyfriend. Had God granted my prayer in the beginning, I wouldn’t have ended up with Guy #2 if I were with Guy #1. Guy #2 was my boyfriend for more than 3 years and I was happy. I’ve learned so many things from my relationship with him that has helped me grow up as a person. We parted ways in college but we’ve remained good friends since. As for Guy #1, he became my best friend and he’s been there for me, even helping me during my breakup with Guy #2.

At the time my relationship with Guy #2 ended, I was hurt and prayed constantly that God would bring us back together. It didn’t happen of course and again I thought God must hate me for allowing meto get hurt. But you know what, ending my relationship with Guy #2 had allowed me to build close friendships with so many other people. I had been giving all my time to Guy #2 and had not spent a lot of time getting to know my other friends. Because of the breakup, I was able to spend a lot of time being around other people, getting to know them, sharing so many things with them. Since then they’ve become my closest friends and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful people around me. God may not have given me what I had asked for but He certainly gave me so much more!

After I graduated from college, my parents decided to move to Canada. I was suddenly desperate to spend every waking minute with relatives and friends because I knew I was leaving and wouldn’t be seeing them for a long time. Although I understood my parents’ decision to leave the country, I was miserable. I prayed for a miracle, anything to keep us from going. It took months for us to prepare for the big trip but we eventually left and I kept thinking, “Why is God allowing this when He clearly knows how happy I am where I am? Why is he taking me away from all the plans I’ve made?” I was depressed for awhile and I made every effort to remind myself that everything happens for a reason even if I can’t see it yet. It’s been 2 years since we moved to Canada and what do I think now? God definitely knows what He’s doing! Shortly after I left, my friends started working for different I.T. companies and since then they’ve been assigned to work abroad in different countries. So if I had stayed behind, I wouldn’t have been able to see them anyways so what’s the difference right? Since I moved here, I’ve met so many interesting people, I’ve been introduced to so many different cultures, and I can proudly say I’ve learn to appreciate diversity and how much fun it truly is to be able to see and experience the other side of the world. Moving to Canada has forced me to leave my “safety net” behind and learn how to be more open to oppurtunities, how to be more independent and it has helped me grow in so many different ways. Back in the Phils, I was used to having a maid do everything for me but here I have to clean my own room, do dishes, and keep after myself. Experiencing winter has certainly increased my appreciation for the all-year-long warm weather in the Phils. Being here has certainly increased my appreciation for all the other things I used to take for granted. I’m not saying it’s so bad here that it’s making me see all the things I’ve been missing. I’m just saying that I can appreciate the true beauty of the wall now that I’ve seen both sides of it. It’s not saying that the grass is necessarily greener on the other side of the fence either. It’s just being able to appreciate what’s on each side.

What’s the best part about moving to Canada? It has brought me Jerry. It has brought me Jen, Suzy, Steve and all the other wonderful people who I can share wonderful experiences with. And being here has made me realize how much my friends care for me even when I am not around. They’re even thinking of visiting me when they get assigned in the US!

These are just some of those moments when I’ve asked God for something and eventhough he didn’t exactly give me what I wanted or when I wanted it, He has always given me the best.