The Prayer Box

*Feel free to share my posts if you feel that it may help someone else.*

So, tonight I made a prayer box. It's not for me (although I could use one), but I helped my daughter finish assembling it. This is a project of hers for her school. She wrote a proposal email to the Principal at her school to petition the need for this prayer box within her school. When she showed me the email, I was more than moved. I felt like, "Wow...either I'm actually doing something right or God truly blessed me with something special." In reality, I'm more inclined to feel it's the latter—that God blessed me with something special. I'm always hard on myself with raising my daughter. I probably don't give myself enough credit or any to be honest. As a parent, you know--we are conditioned* to think that we only have one shot at raising them. Although there is some truth in that, we should probably learn how to give ourselves credit for what does go right in the midst of what may have went wrong. That's a thought that lingers daily.. So, I literally try to invest my everything.. But anywho, moving forward..

Fast forwarding, before making this box tonight, I was a little discouraged about a few things. Feeling that I had no one to talk to (lies of the enemy), I just decided to go to church, surround myself with positive people, throw myself into something that typically makes me uncomfortable to spark growth in another area of my life. You say crazy. I say do what works for you. Just be real with yourself and your progress along the way. 

So, when I left church, I stopped by a store to grab her a box and wrapping paper of some sort to complete this project. We toggled back and forth about which design of wrapping paper to choose. I even picked up some lifesaver candies with the thought to glue them to the box.. You know, because prayers are lifesavers. 🤦🏾‍♀️. It made sense in the moment. And it is true, yet and still. I grabbed a roll of tape and jetted out of the store. 

When wrapping this box, I ran into a few unforeseen issues. Not only did I have to make a way for the prayer requests to be received, I had to then get creative with how they'd be removed from the box to be prayed over. Boy, oh, boy...I didn't think that part out clearly. Amidst my prior discouragement from earlier in the day, and not being able to make this box perfect... I ran out of tape.. I started crying.  How sad is that? Here I was making a prayer box and I'm crying because I can't perfect the logistics of it perfectly with the wrapping paper then I ran out of tape. How could I finish this box? It still needed to be closed from the inside out where the slit laid to insert prayer requests..and the creatively cut out method created to take the prayers out wasn't working properly. Jesus. Maybe I need the prayer. Just open the box and shove my whole head inside—it's me that needs the requests I thought. 🤦🏾‍♀️

My daughter had glue, so I made due with that. She was upstairs this whole time practicing another spoken word piece she wrote for her Language Arts class. 

I topped the box with the blue bow that you see and leaned back to look at the finished product..

That's when I feel that God spoke to my heart...

IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW THE PRAYER/COMMUNICATION IS WRAPPED....JUST TALK* TO ME, JUST RELEASE..SO THAT I CAN RESPOND.... 

Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God."

I shared my moment of vulnerability & frustration 

with you in hopes that I could actually use those tears for something good.. For something that could help shine a light onto a dark thought, room or path that someone may be on..

Don't worry about how it's packaged, just be REAL with the content.. and that's the fact that it won't always be perfect. In fact, nothing's perfect. We won't always be able to be the hero. We won't always have the remedy, solution or the right things to say or do.. Only in our weak areas or moments can God truly show up and connect with us in the most undeniable manner ever. He made us imperfect so that we can never forget that we are only whole when we lean on him. That's where our peace & guidance comes from. Lean on him..... (See Proverbs 3:5.. yet another reminder that dropped on me while doing this.) And when you do lean, TRUST as well. 

Keep pushing. One monkey don't stop no show as my Grandma (BigMa) always says. And Rome wasn't built in a day as another wise person said.. Be patient with yourself. Be gentle with your growth. 

Be encouraged in knowing that your effort, intentions and actions alone are satisfying to your growth to come in ways that you can't even fathom. 

I'm thankful for my daughter. She teaches me more than she realizes with her pure heart and pure intentions. She's passionate about the welfare of others. Maybe I am doing something right after all. ❤️

Unapologetically & Authentically,

Sheena B. ❤️✨