A Surprise 38 years in the Making

A Surprise 38 years in the Making

We all know that prayers of petition or intentions (asking God for something for ourselves or others) don’t always result in what we desire, or at least when we want. Garth Brooks perhaps said it best in his hit song, “Unanswered Prayers” with the chorus of,

“Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs
That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”

In fact, I have experienced during my life God’s answer to some of my prayers of petition long delayed with a surprising outcomes or an unexpected gifts, either temporal or spiritual.

One of the most memorable examples of waiting for an unanswered prayer pertains to my 1998 Father’s Day gift which was such an unexpected surprise that I was left temporarily speechless which for me is high unusual.

The journey of my 1988 Father’s Day gift began with my prayerful desire to own my officer’s saber from Linton Hall Military School (LHMC). I wanted the saber and scabbard as a gift from my parents for graduating with the rank of Cadet Major (second cadet rank) after only three years at the grade-school academy. But as you can guess my desire was not to be granted; at least in 1960.

I can’t really explain how emotionally thrilled I felt after unwrapping my 1988 Father’s Day gift to see a LHMC officer’s saber, steel shinny with intricate inlaid scrolls. At first it seemed surreal.

My wife, Thea, who I confided about my disappointment years ago, and one of our best friends, Doreen Carl, were my saber gift givers. Doreen (who by the way was my wife’s maid of honor at our wedding) was at the time living in Haymarket Virginia not too far from LHMC in Bristow, Virginia, read a notice in the local paper about the military school changing to a co-ed boarding school. Doreen keenly noticed that the aforementioned article mentioned the sale of LHMC items to include cadet officer sabers. Knowing that I was a LHMC 1960 graduate she called my wife. Well, you now the rest of the story as the late commentator Paul Harvey used to say.