Jesus said in Mark 11:24 NIV — Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

My husband, Clark, and I have had many changes occur in our lives within the last year. Last January Clark’s parents moved in with us due to his dad’s declining health. At that time, Clark was already working toward his retirement date of December 30, 2023 from law enforcement. While he mostly enjoyed his years of service, the latter part of his career was spent in administration at the detention center which was very stressful. Clark was eager to retire and alleviate the stress. In the months leading up to his retirement, he would spend time in the evenings browsing online sites for job openings and searching for what he may do next. He would say he didn’t know what he wanted to do when he grew up. I would tell him the right job hadn’t shown up yet because he couldn’t apply until closer to his retirement. I told him at the right time the right job would be there.

November 5, 2023 Clark’s dad fell and broke his femur which resulted in surgery and weeks of being in a rehabilitation facility. Due to the seriousness of his break and his age, the doctors said it could be a year of recovery. After being in the rehab facility for 7 weeks, he was still not able to put any weight on the broken leg. As it turned out, Clark’s dad would be returning home a week before Clark’s retirement. We all realized how much care he would need and began praying about how we would care for him. The Sunday before he came home, Clark and I discussed the predicament on our way to church. While at church someone asked Clark how his dad was doing. After talking with that person, another person asked about his approaching retirement date. Clark said it was like it just hit him like a ton of bricks. The answer to our predicament. God was telling him his job after retirement was to stay home and help his mom take care of his dad. Bam! Answered prayers! Clark felt peace about his epiphany and I am confident he will never regret this time at home caring for his dad. Retirement may not always come as we plan or look how we imagined, but God always has a plan! We just have to trust and obey.

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for answered prayers. Open my eyes to Your plans for me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.