Live life long enough and you are going to have times when everything seems to be going just the way you want it to go. And I’m sure you have already lived life long enough to discover that there are also going to be times when things don’t work out the way you want them to work out. While this is tough and sometimes hard to understand, it’s not the end of the world. In fact, it’s a great opportunity to learn what really matters and grow in unique and meaningful ways.

In 1980, Claudia Minden Weisz penned a beautiful prayer called “When God Said No!” Her life just like any of our’s, was not picture perfect. She was raised in an alcoholic home, her sister was murdered and when she wrote the poem she was beginning a stressful and scary journey through a very challenging and sad time. She found herself dealing with one of the worst nightmares a Mom could ever have to face. Claudia had just found out that her daughter Angela was suffering from a rare disorder known as Rett Syndrome. It’s a neurological disorder that causes the child to withdraw socially as they lose their ability to speak and often suffer from seizers and scoliosis, eventually ending up severely disabled.

With all that in mind and with a heavy, but trusting heart, this is what she wrote,

And God Said No!

I asked God to take away my pride, and God said “NO”.
He said it was not for Him to take away, but for me to give up.

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole, and God said “NO”.
He said her spirit is whole, her body is only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience, and God said “NO”.
He said that patience is a by-product of tribulation,
it isn’t granted, it’s earned.

I asked God to give me happiness, and God said “NO”.
He said He gives blessings, happiness is up to me.

I asked God to spare me pain, and God said “NO”.
He said suffering draws you apart from worldly cares
and brings yo closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow, and He said “NO”.
He said I must grow on my own, but He will prune me to make me fruitful.

I asked God to help me love others as much as He loves me,
And God said “Ah, finally you have the idea”!

God knows what we need and He will give us what we need so that we might grow and develop into the special creation, He created each of us to be. Know that if God allows it into your life, then there must be a purpose and trust that His grace is sufficient as you learn whatever it is that it is trying to teach you and as it grows you into whoever it is that you are supposed to be…