By Kendra Tucker 
A soldier in Oklahoma is chosen to serve as a Congressional Fellow and is transferred to Washington, D.C. A baby in Virginia is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and may need a transplant. A missionary couple decides to take the Gospel to Brazil, but their visa approval is at a standstill, causing them to postpone their move for many months. 
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” The essence of this verse is so difficult to grasp. Our human minds naturally think in terms of the physical and emotional aspects of the here and now. In the midst of a trial we turn to God for answers and direction, and more often than not, we ask for a specific outcome. We know that God has the power to answer prayer, but our feeble minds become conflicted when God’s answer is contrary to what we’ve prayed for, or it seems He hasn’t given us an answer at all. But the question we must ask ourselves is really quite simple. 
Do we trust God? No, it is not a trick question, but the answer you give has to be wholehearted and must apply to all petitions that we place before God. We either trust Him or we don’t. If we trust Him with all of our hearts, souls, and minds, there is a peace that comes with that acceptance. We know that whatever the outcome, God is working in ways we cannot imagine and is giving us answers that we may never see in our lifetime. 
As a wife and a mother, my prayer life is dominated by the everyday worries about family and children. I must admit that I pray much more often for the physical health of my family rather than the spiritual wellness that is far more important. But in the last few years God has blessed me with life events that have refined my view of prayer, and He has shown me that if I just trust Him, all things truly do work together for good. Seemingly unrelated events in our lives turn out to be connected through a beautiful thread that can only be woven by our Creator. 
My sister and brother-in-law called us to ask for prayers for my 2-month-old niece. She went in for some tests and a life-threatening heart defect was found. The search for a heart transplant team began. There was no such team in the Washington, D.C. area where they lived, 
so they traveled here to Nashville to meet with the cardiac department at Vanderbilt Children¹s Hospital. As usual, we all went to church together the Sunday morning of their week-long visit. Nick Fowler, a missionary who was preparing to move his family to Brazil, was the guest speaker in our Sunday school class. Nick began the class by updating us on the continuing struggle with the Brazilian government to get their visa applications approved so that they could begin their mission to save souls in Belem. After class, my brother-in-law approached Nick about the visa issue to see if he could help out in some way. His position as a Congressional Fellow allowed him contact with many of the Senate office members, including those working with a Senator on the Foreign Relations Committee. With their help, the Fowler’s visas were approved and they were on their way to the mission field. 
My sister and brother-in-law have since been transferred to Colorado Springs, CO, and my niece just celebrated her third birthday. She did not require a heart transplant, and although she will be on medications the rest of her life, we praise God that she continues to grow and enjoy a somewhat normal childhood. With the transfer to a new Army base, my brother-in-law will most likely face a deployment, so we remain in prayer that he will be safe wherever he is sent, and that he will be a light to others on the battlefield. Nick and Amy Fowler continue their work in Belem, Brazil. They have recently opened an outreach center where they regularly have about 20 souls who come to study God’s Word. 
And now you know the rest of the story. We can’t always see God’s purpose in the things that happen in our lives. What we can be sure of is that He is always working through us and His answer to our prayers, regardless of whether we see the end result, will always be “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).