Has The Lord Forgotten Me?

BY: A Stander in Malaysia 

In our church’s calendar, my husband's birthday falls on the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. That has always been a source of consolation to me each year; that the Cross will triumph in my prodigal’s life.
 
This year, when the day came, I asked my daughters to accompany me to church to pray for their father, especially on his birthday. Only my younger daughter was able to join me and it was quite a rush to pick her up from school after work and get to church on time.
 
After the homily, the priest offered a little spontaneous prayer, as was his usual practice. As it had been a long day and I was feeling tired, I was only half listening, but I was soon wide awake. I cannot recall the words before or after this phrase, but what caught my attention were the words “. . . so we would not have to sit by the roadside crying.”
 
My immediate reaction was, “What a strange prayer!” But at the same time, I suddenly recalled a dream I had had of my husband several years ago. In that dream, I saw him sitting on the roadside crying very hard. The dream was so real and vivid that when I woke up, I could see it very clearly in my head. The impression was that he wanted to come home, but could not.  
 
Since it had been quite a few years back, I had long forgotten that dream. However, when I heard those words, the dream came back to me vividly and I could see my beloved husband sitting on the curb by the side of the road sobbing his heart out.
 
It made me realize several points:  

• That the dream was from the Lord.   (Ezekiel 11:24-25)
•  That the Lord had not forgotten my prayer to bring my prodigal home.  (Isaiah 49:15-16)
•  The Lord truly is the good Shepherd and He is out there looking for his lost sheep because the heart of the Lord is to bring back the prodigals. (John 10:14-16)
•  That although from the outside my husband looks happy and seems to be having a great time, inside he was grieving.  (1 Samuel 16:7)
•  That I was to continue to pray for him. (James 5:16)
•  That truly our hope is in the Lord. (Psalm 33:20-22)
•  That when we make that extra effort to draw near to God, His response is often overwhelming - more then we can ask for or dream of! (James 4:8, Ephesians 3:20)

 
Needless, to say I was so encouraged by the whole event and am so amazed by our faithful and loving God! My husband left our home and marriage more than 11 years ago and I have to confess, there have been many times when I wonder if God remembers my petition to bring my husband, the father of my children, home and make my family whole again.
 
Yet from what happened, although it has seemed such a long wait, it is clear that God remembers and He will bring my prodigal home in His time. On my part, I am not to give up, but to continue to intercede and not look at the circumstances. Friends who have seen my husband often tell me how happy he looks, but that is on the outside. The Lord knows the real picture on the inside. And the Lord wants to bring the Prodigal home because above all, the Lord loves all His children, especially the lost sheep.