I am the youngest granddaughter of Grace Oswalt. She was born in the 19th century. I was born in the 20th century, and I will die in the 21st century. Three centuries have marched forward from her birth to my last breath. I find this amazing and beautiful.

Sprinkled through all the years are prayers prayed in faith for God to hear from Heaven and answer according to His will.

And answer He has! Our family is full of stories where God met us in the hardest of times–suicide, house fires, accidental deaths, rape and unwed motherhood. But God has walked our family through every step and listened to every cry capturing every tear in His bottle. What a Savior. What a friend.

Today is Grace’s birthday. It is her 43rd in Heaven. I’m confident if possible, she is continuing to pray for each of us and the hardships our family is facing. Her faith inspires my faith to pray for help and hope when none is seen on the horizon. Answers that aren’t yet are still to be embraced as if they are already here. Waiting is hard because it reveals our impatience and our desire to be in control. But we aren’t in control–thankfully, God is.

Our daughter shared a Reel on her Instagram regarding her son, Elias, and how hard it is to wait while he is recovering from cancer. This was the quote read…

“Why is waiting such a part of spirituality? Because waiting is where faith actually becomes necessary. I mean think about it a God of immediate gratification requires no faith. It’s in the waiting and silence where faith actually develops. So the three days that exist between the crucifixion and the resurrection, they teach us what? That the presence of silence never equals the absence of God. And the eight days that exist between Thomas screaming doubt into the sky and God actually appearing to him, teach us that He is in both the miraculous appearance and the 8 days of silence. The presence of silence never means the absence of God. So the challenge of waiting is to actually let faith do its work trusting that on the other side of this period of silence I will have a richer, deeper more alive faith than I did before.” – The Honey Scoop

My grandmother died waiting to see some of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. In the 43 years since she has been gone I have watched her prayers come to pass. Every one of them.

So what is it you are waiting on God to do? Offer it to Him as a sacrifice of praise. Then trust Him to do what’s best in you and in the circumstances as you wait. Be sure to pray for His Kingdom come and His will be done in His timing for His glory.

Happy Birthday, Big Mama. Your legacy of faith continues to expand in our family and I’m certain you have heard from our Heavenly Father, “Well done, My good and faithful servant.”