Unanswered Prayers

I'm not a big fan of country music. To me, it seems like they all say the same thing and all sound the same. Plus, the only way to truly appreciate country music it to wear cowboy boots and hat and a plaid shirt--an outfit I don't wear ever. But my man is slowly corrupting me by having me listen to it while driving in the car. I still am not a fan but I did come across a song that I found quite poetic and profound. It's called "Unanswered Prayers" by Garth Brooke. The story of the song is about a man who goes out to a football game with his wife and he runs into his old high school sweetheart who he had prayed that God would make her his wife. But when he talks to her he realizes that even though it seemed that God wasn't listening to his prayers, He was all along. It turns out that his high school flame didn't turn out so great. The man looks at his wife and it dawns on him that his wife was God's answer to the man's apparently 'unanswered prayers' to make his high school flame his wife. He thanks God for his wife and for not answering his high school prayers. I like the concept of thanking God for not answering certain prayers of mine with a "yes, ok, I will grant that request." Looking back at my life this past week, I see so many prayers that I prayed answered with a "no, but here is something better for you". So many of those prayers that I prayed would have brought me great sorrow and pain for years if been answered with a "yes". So, tonight, along with Brooke, I thank God for unanswered prayers and for the many blessings he has filled my life up with instead. God is good all the time, all the time He is good. In the waiting time for an answer, He is good. In the answering time, He is good. In the un-answering time, He is good. I've noticed that when God says "no, I have something better for you" is always more amazing then the time he says "yes". It's crazy. It's beautiful. It's Jesus.