When God says "no"

A few days ago my youngest came crawling over to me in the kitchen just as I was opening the oven door to put in a tray of cookies. I told him "no" and positioned my body to block his access to the oven, which caused him to burst into tears. Little ones don't handle it very well when a parent tells them "no," even when we are protecting them. As I scooped him up to comfort him over this trauma of being denied access to a hot oven, I thought that I often have the same type of response when my Heavenly Father answers one of my prayer requests with a "no." God is not a genie in the sky who must always grants us our wishes. Some of our prayer requests are answered with a "yes," but others are answered with a "wait" or a "no." As we prepared to have our final embryo transferred, I was praying fervently umpteen times a day that the embryo would survive the thawing process. The Lord answered that request with a "yes," and I began earnestly praying for the Lord to allow the little one to continue growing within me. I was blessed to be able to see those two glorious lines on the pregnancy test several days later, but a few days after that, the Lord called our little one up to Heaven, which means our family is complete. I wish with all my heart that His answer had been "yes" to my request for Him to sustain that little life so that I could hold another baby in my arms next spring. I know that He loves me, and I have to trust that He knows what is best. As Job said, "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. May the name of the Lord be blessed."