Well, this weekend was rather interesting.  My Saturday did not go as I had planned.  Not that I had grand plans of how to spend the afternoon, but going to the Emergency Room was NOT even on my radar.  But that’s where I ended up.

Seriously.  Am I the only one who does stupid little things and then, pays for it like no other?  I jumped in the shower, was using a washcloth to wash my face, when oh. no.  MY CONTACT LENS.

I was washing my face (obviously a little too rough), when all of a sudden, my contact lens in my right eye jammed clear up…into the top of my eyeball.  (I don’t even know what to say.  Except for yes.  This happened.  And OUCH.)  With a little bit of panic coming over me, I started to rub my eye to try and maneuver the darn thing back down to where it belonged.  No luck.  I jumped out of the shower, leaving a trail of water all over the floor to glance in the mirror.  Maybe I could see my contact lens and get it down.  NOPE.  But I could feel it CLEAR UP THERE.  Dripping wet, I kept trying to rub my eye and press it downward.  Nothing.  Then, I thought maybe I was losing it and perhaps my contact just fell out of my eye and was on the shower floor.

I looked as close as I could on the shower floor with my left eye (since that one still had its lens in the correct place) and saw nothing.  (Side note: I am legally blind without my contacts.  Seriously.  My prescription for my lenses are -6.5 and -7.0.)

Maybe the contact lens DID fall out when I was rubbing my eye…  So, I went back to the sink (yes, leaving another trail of water) and put another contact in my right eye, then jumped back into the shower.  OH MY LORD ALMIGHTY.  That felt AWFUL and it was as though something was trying to push this new contact lens out of my eye. (Well, yes, that would be the other lens clear up in my eyeball.  It was not needing another lens in that right eye because there was NO sharing whatsoever of any eyeball space.)

Back to the sink I went and took that new contact out of my right eye, confirming my suspicions…there was STILL a contact lodged WAY UP IN MY EYE.

You guys.  This was more than I could handle.  Dripping wet, I got back into the shower for probably the eighty-ninth time and began to cry.  Because I am like that.  I can only take so much of a medical issue and then, tears will start to flow.  Between crying in the shower (and hoping that tears would help unlodge the contact) and praying and crying and praying some more, I was a big old mess.

I finished up washing my hair, got out and threw on some clothes, then went back to the mirror.  I rubbed and rubbed and FOR THE LOVE.  My eye was hurting and nothing I was doing helped.  The next step?  Put a call into my eye doctor.  He informed me that I needed to go to the E.R.  GREAT.  Just how I wanted to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon.

After talking to Hubby on the phone, I got in the car and drove myself to the emergency room.  He had asked if I was able to drive myself, and I told him I would be fine driving with one eye.  (Listen.  He and the boys were a good half hour away and I didn’t think having them with me at the emergency room would be good for any of us.  Why ruin four people’s Saturday?  I knew I’d be fine going alone.)

Driving to the hospital, I comforted myself like any respectable person would do.  I ate a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos with swigs of Mt. Dew to wash them down.  And maybe five or six large handfuls of peanut butter M&M’s.  (That, my friends, is what you call STRESS EATING.)  And yes, I prayed in between mouthfuls.  All the while, keeping a close eye (one eye) on the road.

Well, I pulled into the parking lot and began to think about how I’d need to apologize to the emergency room doctor for Cool Ranch Dorito and peanut butter M&M breath.  So, I popped in some Orbit gum to “clean up that dirty mouth” as they say on the commercials.  I knew the doctor would appreciate me thinking of this kind gesture.

I checked in and had to wait.  And while I waited, I prayed some more and read the book that I threw in my purse.  And I prayed, “God, please.  Please help me get this contact unlodged from clear up in my eyeball.  Please help it to come down.  And you know what God?  I’d like you to do this little miracle.  Because I will share with people how you still answer prayers.  Even little prayers about contacts being stuck in someone’s eye.  Oh.  And can you please do this miracle before the doctor comes into the room?  Thank you.”

Yes.  I prayed that prayer.  And then, I waited some more.  I was finally brought back to a room and the nurse was so sweet.  She informed me that I was the second person to do this today.

“Great.  Then, the doctor has already had some practice,” I joked with her.

She left the room and I waited some more.  So, I got out my book again.  This book…

You will want to buy this book. AMAZING.

My Uncle Jim told me about this book last Saturday night while at Grandma Helen’s 93rd birthday party.  He read it and said it was so good.  I had heard of it, but hadn’t read it.  He peaked my interest and loaned it to me.

Friends.  This book is awesome.  I am half way through the book and I can hardly put it down.  I highly recommend that you purchase it PRONTO.

Back to the emergency room.  I sat there and began to read this book some more.  And I came to this page…

This page.  Page 112.

As I read the second paragraph, the words struck me.  You can’t just be willing to pray about it; you also have to be willing to do something about it.  And so with my left eye reading those words and praying in my mind, I took my hand and began to do something about that contact lodged in my right eye.  As I prayed, I rubbed my eye and within a matter of three seconds, that contact PLOPPED right out into the palm of my hand.

You all.  That contact came out just like I asked God to do…before a doctor would come into the room.  He answered my prayer!

It was about three hours later, but God answered my prayer.

And this is what I have seen firsthand (with or without a contact in my eye).  When you have a burden, lift it up in prayer to God.  But don’t just pray about it once.  Pray circles around that burden.  KEEP PRAYING.  PRAY through the hard part.  And do something and continue to pray.  Be it read the Bible or rub your eye…

Many times in my life, I’ve had a desire or a dream or a thought or a concern.  And I’ve prayed about it and moved on.  But over the past year, God has shown me that if there’s something I really want (and if it’ll be pleasing to Him and be used for His glory), I need to keep praying about it.  Don’t pray about it once and then, give up.  Keep praying.

I love what Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

I love Hebrews 11:6

DILIGENTLY.  It doesn’t say to seek Him once on that issue or concern and then, just give up.  Nope.  But to diligently seek Him.

This weekend, God showed me once more, that He is the same God who did miracles over 2000 years ago.  The same God who fed 5,000 people with one little boy’s lunch.  The same God who made the wall of Jericho fall after Joshua and his people marched around that city for six days and on the SEVENTH day, the wall fell flat.

Friends, I don’t know what is on your heart.  Be it a dream or a concern or whatever.  But I do know that God is just as powerful today as He was in the days of the Bible.  I want to encourage you to pray for what has been on your heart.  Your marriage, your relationships, that job you’ve been thinking about, your children, a health concern, a wart, WHATEVER. Pray about it.  So what if it’s big or small.  God cares and He’s waiting for you to pray.

I hope this has encouraged you today.  Pray hard and keep on praying hard.  And you, too, will see prayers answered.  Because we have a mighty and powerful God.  And praise God that He is STILL in the business of performing miracles.  🙂

If this has encouraged you, would you please share this post?  I’d love to hear in the weeks to come how God prompted people to begin praying like no other.  How awesome that would be to hear of miracles that happen because we’ve encouraged people to start praying hard!  And keep on praying hard!