The business of answering prayers

Yesterday, I went to Heaven Fest. It was amazing.

I should point out that I basically went because a couple of bands that had some folks I know and love playing for them and I wanted to give them hugs. Yep. That's why I went. Had a whole number of circumstances that almost prevented me from going, but it all worked out.

Backing up... a couple days before, I was whining at God. I felt like none of my prayers were being answered, and I had to wonder what was going on. I prayed for a lot of silly little things relating to Heaven Fest. Some not so silly. But yesterday, it was like the floodgates opened up and God said, "See? I do listen to you. So chill out already."

First major prayer: Let me get there before Rush of Fools came on. They were one of the bands I really wanted to see. God said okey dokey. Timing was perfect.

Number two: I got there and was worried about our budget being tight because I'm getting ready to go on a trip and some money I was expecting hasn't come yet and would have to pull it out of savings to repay later. Not a big deal, but just irritating. I asked one of the volunteers where to buy tickets, and as I was walking to the ticket booth, a random lady says to me, "I have a ticket you can have. It was supposed to be for my friend, but she couldn't come." I took the ticket and she disappeared before I could give her anything for it. So, I ended up going for free.

Number three: I wanted to see and hug the Rush guys. Check.

Number four: I wanted to see Jonathan play with Skillet (and his schedule didn't say he was, but a friend told me he'd be there) and hug him. Got to see him play, but didn't see him to hug. Oh well. I'll see him next weekend with Todd and crew.

Number five: I felt really conspicuous being alone (hubby was at home working on the shed) and surrounded by crazed teenagers. I hate crowds, and it's worse if I have no one to talk to. There were 17,000 people and no one I knew was going. I'm not one of those people who becomes instant friends with strangers, so I sort of resigned myself to being alone. I walked over to an area where I thought I might see Jonathan, and ran into my old friend, Katrina. What a blessing! We did a Bible study years ago and are intermittently in touch. I also do her taxes. I spent the rest of the time with her and her family, who are such blessings to me. God really came through on that one, don't you think?


Number six: When I finally felt like eating, most of the food places sold out. I stood in a line for 1/2 hour only to get almost to the front and be told they were out of food. All the other lines were really long and also almost out of food. I ended up with an overcooked piece of cardboard cheese pizza, but I got to eat.

Number seven: I had to go to the bathroom really really bad. The portapotties had huge lines. I decided to take my chance on some on the other side of the festival, and hoped that I'd be able to get one in time. They were completely empty and I was just fine. Even though I hate portapotties.

Number eight: We all know I obsess over little, idiotic things. I forgot my water bottle. They fill them for free, but you needed to have something to fill or you had to drink from a dinky paper cup. So brilliant me decided I'd find a place to BUY a bottle of water and then I could refill it. Um, no. No one sold water. Finally, I said, okay, I just need something I can fill with water. Bought a bottle of Gatorade, drank it, and then I had a bottle to refill. I know, that all sounds lame, but in my mind, I made a HUGE deal of it, and God was like, "chill. I've so got you covered."

Number nine: During the main event, they did this thing where you were supposed to pray with the folks around you. I know, you all think I'm such an extrovert. I stood there, next to Katrina and her daughter, and was like, "okay, God, you know this is waaaay beyond my comfort zone. And I know it's beyond Katrina's, so can you help me out here?" Well, this kid, who couldn't have been more than 14 or 15, came up to us and asked if he could pray with us. He totally broke the ice and within seconds, we were all praying together.

Number ten: Remember, I came to see two bands? Well, after them, Jeremy Camp was playing. Not that there's anything wrong with Jeremy Camp, but frankly, if you've heard one of his songs, you've heard them all. Plus, I was just not in the mood to listen to a bunch of hormonal teenagers go on and on about how cute he is. He's married, girls. You know that. What you're thinking is called adultery.

But I digress. The main event thing sounded kind of cool, I mean, who can argue with worship and prayer? But I really didn't feel like sitting through to the very end and then have to fight with 17,000 people to get out of the parking lot and then drive a couple of miles down a dirt road with all the dust that was already making my allergies go nuts. Yeah. I had a bad attitude.

However, I missed the teenage Jeremy Camp frenzy because I was in the food line, and by the time the main event rolled around, I was having so much fun catching up with Katrina's daughters, I thought it might be nice to hang out in worship with them, since we haven't done that together in forever.

The main event was completely awesome. God really spoke to my heart and made me realize that even though I'm going through a grumpy phase, He's still listening. He still cares. There's still a lot of things I'm waiting on. Most of which have a lot more to do with relying on me and wanting my agenda pushed forward than anything remotely resembling what it means to worship and trust Him. Ooops.

God is totally in the business of answering prayers. From the littlest ones to the big ones, where I desperately need Him to show up. He's there. Sometimes it means getting over myself.

And even though I was fully prepared to face the parking lot mess after such a great time of worship, God even met me there and I didn't get caught in a lick of traffic.