Unanswered Prayers

I once had an experience I will never forget. I was young, maybe between the ages of 10-13; perhaps younger. We lived on this big hill (no exaggeration) on the outskirts of Ammon and no one's parents ever wanted to come and pick me up when we wanted to play. That usually left me either, a) staying at home or b) riding my bike. Since I was deathly afraid of the hill I would usually just end up staying at home.

One afternoon Breanne Meyers invited me over to play. It was one of the first times that we were going to "hang" together and I was really excited. So excited, in fact, to me it was worth facing the hill. I called my mom at work and let her know I was going. She said she was glad that I was going and told me to make sure to say a prayer before I left. I took her advice and knelt to pray before setting off. In my prayer I asked for safety. I wanted to make sure I arrived at Breanne's without any accidents.

I climbed on my bike and set off.

I road down the hill with ease. Keep in mind I was riding my brakes the whole time but I was doing it. I was so excited when I got to the bottom of the hill (a few feet away from the stop sign) that I did a dance move with my hands without even thinking. I then got so excited that I road my bike without any hands for the first time that I did it again; this time for longer. It didn't work, though. I lost control of my bike. The front wheel was jolting back and forth and I couldn't grab onto the handle bars to hit the brakes. The stop sign was getting closer and closer and my only choice was to lean into the turn and brace for impact. I hit the ground and skid. I remember my head hitting the ground. I remember seeing a white truck. I remember being inside the truck and the man asking me my name, address, and phone number. I don't know if I ever answered correctly. I remember waking up a few times every now and then on my couch in my living room. My mom was there.

When I finally came too I was pretty sore. My left hip and right shoulder were pretty bloody. I had a really bad headache. My mom let me know that Brother Anderson, our neighbor and close friend, drove by just as I had fallen on my bike. He recognized me instantly and scooped me up, put me in his truck, loaded up my bike, drove me home, found my keys, put me on my couch in my house, found my mom's work number, and called her to come home immediately.

Later that night I asked my mom a question that I'm sure any parent would be afraid to answer:

"Mom, I said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to protect me and help me arrive to Breanne's safely. Why did I get in an accident?"

My mom sat and thought for a minute (she doesn't remember this, I asked). She then said, well Heavenly Father didn't protect you from the accident but because of Him Brother Anderson, did I mention he's a doctor, drove by right as you fell. She told me that, THAT, was the answer to my prayer.

I'm sure my mom was worried that was not a good enough answer, but it was. Because of that experience, I was able to understand that sometimes prayers are answered in ways that don't make sense right at first. Sometimes He answers them in ways that are better for you and you just don't know it yet. It's another way to show how well our Heavenly Father knows us.

What a blessing it is to have an "unanswered prayer."