I have experienced a couple of times the power of believing in my dreams, recognizing possibilities, and finding the path.
The lesson (which I must constantly be reminded of) is that we should ask God to help us when we can’t do it ourselves, to realize that nothing is impossible once God has directed our vision. We must work and believe, but all is possible. Once you realize that nothing is impossible, then the steps to make it happen are revealed, and you can begin working to get there.
I still need this lesson every day. And, as Jess says, when we show others that we believe in the words we speak, others who are broken and in need are influenced by what they see.
Be brave!
Stella's Place 
When I was a little girl, I remember wanting to live in Scotland. Bagpipes gave me goosebumps! I studied the history, architecture and imagined what it would really be like! After my divorce from my first husband, I would look up to the stars and pray just for the right person to share my life with.
Then I met Robbie. Went to Scotland and lived there for 10 years! It was like a dream come true. We came back to the USA for a lot of reasons, but it’s worked out and we’re both very happy!
I’ve always told anyone who would listen to me, “Just pray for what you want. If you don’t get it, it’s because God knows you don’t really need it.”
Un-answered prayers sometimes can be a blessing.
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Thanks for sharing your story!
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If you haven’t yet listened to the video, try to make the time. She is gifted at saying what is true, and making others understand it.
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I listened to every word. That little lady makes a lot of sense! I’ve been subscribed to her youtube for a long time, and she really give a lot of good advice. Not only on life, but gardening as well.
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I listen to every one of her YouTube videos. She’s a jewel.
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I finally had time to watch, and I have saved it to watch again, and maybe again. I see and appreciate what her message is, where she went with this, which was more, and far better developed than I thought it would be at the beginning or even midway through.
She addresses what is my biggest failure and opportunity. But she also addresses areas that I may not agree with theologically, much thinking to do. Am I being obstinate or is there something there I need to dig into to clafify my own beliefs?
It’s going to take some more watching this and thinking, and yes, praying too.
This young lady is gifted and not afraid or hesitant to use the graces bestowed on her by God, which is the foundation not only of her success, but IMO, her credibility.
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I don’t think she means to say that God will give us everything that we dream of or desire, but that he listens to our prayers and provides guidance and sometimes help.
I remember when I wanted to own a home, but thought that I never could. I was a single householder, my income was average, and my credit rating mediocre. I didn’t have money for a standard down payment, and didn’t see how I could ever save enough.
Then, because of events in the lives of family members and friends, I began to believe that it might be possible. I began by cleaning up my credit, gradually saved some money (not much) and looked for a house that I might be able to afford. I attended real estate open houses on the weekends and looked at real estate on line.
This was when the market was hot, and prices were high.
Then one day, a group from GMAC came into the office to talk to employees about mortgages. I sat down with them, and it turned out that there was an FHA mortgage that I qualified for that required very little cash to close. My mortgage guy was great!
I got the mortgage, found a great realtor (via an Open House) who really helped me to find a home I could afford and that suited my life and, finally, I achieved my dream of home ownership.
The home I bought had just been updated in many ways – kitchen remodeled with new stove and dishwasher (I had to buy a refrigerator), new windows, new furnace and air conditioning, new roof. The owners intended to stay in the house, but they were surprised with a new baby (after 10 years) and needed a larger home, so they sold theirs to me.
Did God help me on this journey? I think he did. All I did was listen and do a few things that needed to be done.
Today I have a standard mortgage, an excellent credit rating, a solid home, and much more stability in my life.
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PS: I forgot to mention that my parents never owned a home, so I guess I thought that I never would either. My dad never wanted to buy, so they always rented.
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She doesn’t come off like a prosperity believer. I just never think in the terms she thinks and it is kind of like back when I used to make my husband go shopping with me. He had the ability to pick out dresses for me that I looked great in, but I never even saw them. I would sort through the racks and go right past them.
He would pull out several things that I just hated, was positive I would look awful in, and insist I try them on. I would, and I would look great, but that wasn’t the end of the story. Even though I knew I looked great, and I got lots of compliments when I wore those dresses, they weren’t comfortable and I was self conscious for awhile.
It always took some time to adjust until I “saw” me in the new look, and that wasn’t a bad thing, the new look or the adjustment. This is kind of the same thing for me, if that makes a lick of sense. It is why I want to watch more of this.
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I think a big part of my trouble with this is trust. I don’t have a clue what big things I might do if I had trust in God. I always feel like I made my choices and that’s it.
I do agree with her that she has aligned her will to God’s (which is key, always) and allowed him to work in her, through her. Me, I can’t determine what might be the course for me. I can’t give over, therefore I can never be assured whose course I am on, mine or his.
One of the things I remember most is watching a video of Mother Angelica talking about the huge things she accomplished absolutely through the sometimes astoundingly miraculous providence of God. It was about the risk taking, the belief, the confidence to do it. She simply said she feared standing before God and him telling her “Angelica, I gave you everything you needed to do these things. Why didn’t you go do it?”
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I’ve probably told this story before, but bear with me. My mother told me the story of how she was convinced that prayers are heard and answered, and that it required that she give over everything to God. I know people say that, but what she meant is that she had a desperate need and could see no way forward, so she prayed to God that he take over this need for her.
It was very specific. She needed a certain amount of money to pay my sister’s rent. My sister was pregnant outside of marriage (this was 1955) and nobody knew, not even my father (my sister’s stepfather). She asked God to provide what she could not.
A week later, she received a letter from her sister in California. In that letter was a check for the amount she needed, and a note: “I thought you might need this.” This was very odd, particularly since my aunt was a widow, and didn’t have a lot of spare cash.
My mother said that she was scrubbing the floor, and kneeled and thanked God for his blessing and then she felt a presence put its arms around her. It frightened her a lot! She said that she never ever doubted that prayers are heard and answered after that day.
I believe that this happened to my mother. The hardest thing is to have faith in things that we can’t see and don’t understand, and it is so hard to put ourselves and our efforts out of the picture, so to speak. To turn over whatever it is to God.
Even though I believe, it’s still difficult, especially to believe that things are possible when we have accepted in our own mind that they are not.
I often think about a child who grows up poor, his single mother on public assistance. How difficult must it be for that child to believe that he can succeed in school, in business, in life? That he can be somebody that doesn’t exist in his house or even in his neighborhood?
We are all like that, to one degree or another.
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Thanks Stella, beautiful story. Your mother had faith to move mountains.
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