Laurie had weathered the winters in Wyoming for over twenty years and they were beginning to really wear her down. It seemed at times that the snow and the cold would never go away. All she wanted to see was her flowers bloom and be able to work in her garden daily as she worshipped the Lord for His creation. Laurie had thought about moving a few years earlier to another state where the weather was not so bad. She had even gone there and found a house and did everything in her own power to get that house. But her attempts failed and she realized in her heart that she was trying to manipulate the situation to be what she wanted without seeking the Lord for His guidance. After much turmoil and stress she confessed to the Lord and resigned to live in Wyoming as long as He wanted her there, snow storms or not, she committed herself to God's will not hers.

It was the year 2002, it was the month of May, Laurie and her sister had already planted their flowers and they were beginning to bloom. Oh how happy she was to see signs of spring coming and the beauty of the flowers blooming. She was glad that winter had seemed to pass and now she could enjoy the outside once again. Everything was going well until one morning toward the end of May Laurie woke up to yet another snowstorm, only this time it was more than a storm it was a blizzard. Laurie drove a school bus for a living and had to fight the brutal cold all day as she drove each child to school and back home again that day. By the time she arrived home her fingers were numb from the cold, she was wet and her body was freezing. As she came toward her garden she could see the snow falling down upon her beautiful flowers and she knew the weight of the snow would probably cause them to die. She hurried to cover them with plastic and anything else she could find around the house. She did all she could to protect those flowers and when the snow just kept coming she realized that all her attempts to save the flowers were probably in vain. She went inside wet and cold and shaking. She also went inside mad, she was mad at God for allowing her flowers to die. She threw her hands up in the air and basically just gave up and said, Lord these are your flowers, if you don't care about them neither do I."

I received an email from Laurie that day and to put it lightly I was shocked. I had never heard her so frustrated and upset. Laurie's emails were always very encouraging and when speaking to her the sweetness of the Lord poured forth from her, so to see this email come through, and to see a Laurie I had not known before, to say the least I was very surprised. I didn't know what to do except email her back and offer a prayer for the circumstances in her life that day. Later we spoke on the phone and she let us know how hard she had tried to save those flowers. We prayed again.

The next morning the snow had stopped. One of the first things Laurie did was rush outside to check on her flowers. They were alive! They had weathered the storm! The Lord did watch over them much to Laurie's surprise. Of course Laurie found herself repenting to the Lord for her attitude the day before and began to praise Him for saving her flowers.

A few weeks later she received a phone call. A house in the state she wanted to move to had just been put on the market and the price was lower that the original one she had tried so hard to obtain. Before she even knew it doors began to open wide for Laurie and her family to make the move from freezing Wyoming to a state where snow was just something she would see every now and then and the temperatures were at least in the 20's if not higher on most days. At first Laurie didn't realize that her cry out to God that day, the day when it looked like everything would die, was a cry that would change everything in her life, but as she began to see the hand of the Lord move in even the slightest details of this move she stood and watched in amazement the goodness of God. It only took a few months and Laurie and her family were totally relocated to a place where she could plant her flowers and have her garden and see the beauty of God's creation every single day. There is even a river that flows alongside the house where she can go and just sit and be reminded of the Lord's love for her and her family.

It took a major storm in the natural to push Laurie over the edge that day to the place beyond herself. To the place of giving everything to the Lord and accepting His will over hers. It seems as if in that moment the heavens were opened and the answer to the cry of her heart was on its way.

Laurie didn't know as she watched the snow fall heavily on her flowers that day, that the very circumstance that seemed like it was bringing death was actually the very circumstance that bought a miracle into her life from Our Lord and Savior and raised up not only the flowers but also Laurie and her family.

Sometimes we just have to let go. Sometimes we just have to give up. Sometimes we just have to say, "Lord, your will be done, no matter what Your will is, Your will be done, not mine." I am sure in Laurie's frustration that day she didn't realize that she was just letting go and agreeing to accept whatever the Lord wanted. I think she only knew the frustration of her own heart BUT GOD was already opening doors for His precious daughter that would be exceedingly, abundantly above all that she could ask of even think would ever be hers in this lifetime. God sent answers that day from heaven that day. When all Laurie could see was the snow pounding on her flowers, the Lord saw the plans He had for her, plans for her good, plans for her future.

Laurie is settled in her new home now, she is thankful with all of her heart for all the Lord has done. She is enjoying the land He led her to and through it all she has learned to be content in every situation that comes her way for she knows the God she serves, the living God of heaven and earth hears our cries and meets every need in His perfect timing.