It’s always a good thing to recognize and reflect on the ways God continually blesses us in our lives. All of my life I have heard the phrase ‘count your blessings’, which is essentially the same thing, since we know that “every good and perfect gift comes from God”– James 1:17.
I have, no doubt, been thankful to God for our babies each and every day of their lives, but something just hit me a few weeks ago when looking back at a picture I had snapped during singing on a Wednesday night before Bible class. The afternoon had been spent, as usual, with the youth group at our house followed by meeting at the church building for a meal provided by a generous family. Next, a 10-15 minute activity followed by thirty minutes of singing and then Bible class and devotional talk. Wrangling the two under two around the building each Sunday and Wednesday is always a lot easier with all of the helping hands of the youth group, and as I was walking a fussy Emmy down the hall during singing, I glanced in the doorway to see this: Jackson being held by another little boy helping him hold the songbook and seated next to them were two other little boys intently following along in their songbooks and singing so fervently.
Honestly, at the time that I snapped the picture, I was just thinking “how cute!”. Days later I was looking back through pictures and sending recent ones to grandparents and great grandparents when I suddenly realized “I prayed for THIS”.
I prayed for this, specifically for this: that our kids would be able to grow up with good friends. Those who would be good influences in their lives, those whose families were our friends, those whose families we have spent countless hours and days and weeks working with for the Lord. That our kids would have cousins their age to grow up with and to be friends with, just as Jordan and I both had/have. There was a time that I was confident that this would not happen, that this prayer would not be answered the way that I was wanting it to be answered, that when we were finally able to have a child either through adoption or birth, our friends’ kids would be so much older. And this was the completely wrong attitude and mindset to have, for we are told to ask with faith, not doubting- James 1:6. I never doubted that He COULD, I only wondered if He WOULD. Even so, it was not the right attitude.
As I stared at this picture and others and as I have spent the past week going on play dates with some of these kids, I have been even more grateful and thankful to God for this blessing. I have been mindful and ashamed of how many times I forget to acknowledge, attribute, and thank God for the things He blesses me and my family with. I am confident that reflecting on our prayers and recognizing the way God answers them (even when it isn’t how we may have desired), is healthy and helpful to our prayer life and our relationship with God. It can strengthen our trust in Him and remind us to always give Him the glory and thanks due to Him for all the many things He has done and continues to do for us. 
Live Moore Fully 