Answered Prayers

August 24, 2026

by Shelley

It's finally happening.

The things I have prayed for, cried over, worked toward, and waited on are finally starting to come to fruition.

First and foremost, all the glory goes to God.

Second of all… I AM TIREDDD.

Seriously. Some days I catch myself wanting to complain about how busy I am, how much I have on my plate, or how exhausted I feel, and then I have to remind myself:

Girl… don’t complain. You prayed for ALL of this.

And that got me thinking about something I learned pretty early in my healing journey.

When I first started to work on my personal growth and walknwith God, there were two things I prayed for every single day: patience and tolerance.

And here's the funny thing about prayer.

Sometimes we think we ask God for something and He’s just going to hand it to us, perfectly packaged with a little bow on top.

And He does answer us… just not always the way we expect.

When I prayed for patience, God gave me opportunities to practice patience.

For example: a 17-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son.

When I prayed for tolerance, God gave me situations where I needed to practice grace, kindness, understanding and restraint.

For example: again… a 17-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son.

Coincidence? I think not.

But all jokes aside ...kind of ... there were so many times I found myself in situations where my patience was tested over and over and OVER again. I remember thinking, God, why does this keep happening to me? Haven’t I learned this lesson yet?!

Looking back, I understand it differently now.

God wasn't ignoring my prayers.

He was answering them.

He was giving me opportunities to become the woman I kept asking Him to help me become.

And now I'm watching that same lesson unfold in an entirely different area of my life.

I prayed for stability.

I prayed for a good job.

I prayed for the ability to provide for my children.

I prayed for businesses and additional streams of income.

I prayed for doors to open.

Most importantly, I prayed for a better life for myself and my family.

And God said, Okay.

But apparently “okay” didn't mean I was going to wake up one morning with everything magically sitting in my lap.

It meant work.

It meant staying committed when I didn't see immediate results.

It meant showing up to my job even on the hard days.

It meant advertising my small business over and over when it felt like nobody was paying attention.

It meant continuing to create, network, learn, build and put myself out there.

It meant months of planting seeds without knowing which ones were ever going to grow.

And now?

They're growing.

My small business is finally picking up. More streams of revenue are beginning to happen. New opportunities are opening up. Doors I've prayed about are starting to crack open, and I'm beginning to see a path toward being able to provide an even better life for my family....and I'm walking through those doors...in my cute boots, of course!

And yes…

I'm tired.

But what a blessing it is to be tired from carrying things I once begged God to place in my hands.

On the days when I feel overwhelmed or catch myself becoming ungrateful, I have to remember:

I prayed for this.

I cried over this.

I begged God for this.

There was a version of me who would have given anything for the stability, opportunities, peace and life I have today.

So my prayer is changing again.

Now I pray for the wisdom, discipline, strength and discernment to maintain what God has given me...and to continue building this life according to His plan, not just mine.

I pray that I never become so focused on what's next that I forget to thank Him for what's already here.

Thank You, God, for everything You have given me.

Thank You for every prayer You answered differently than I expected.

Thank You for every door You opened.

And just as importantly…

Thank You for every door You closed.

Thank You for everything You removed from my life.

Thank You for everything You protected me and my children from.

Thank You for the things I once cried over losing that I can now see had no place where You were taking me.

I don't know exactly what the next chapter looks like.

But I know the One writing it.

So I'll keep working. I'll keep building. I'll keep praying. I'll keep trusting.

And when I'm exhausted and tempted to complain about how much is on my plate, I'll remind myself one more time:

You prayed for this.

And God answered.

Now it's time to keep walking in it. ❤️

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