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I joined an online garage sale forum. I saw a brand new pair of jeans, in Hayden's size, for a great price. I contacted the lady selling them and arranged a time for Thomas to come pick them up. She texted me and told me that she had other clothes, if I was interested. I asked her to text me pictures. Instead, when Thomas showed up, she handed him a huge bag of clothes, told him to go home, figure out what we wanted, bring back what we didn't want and the money for what we did want to buy. 

I was shocked that she was willing and trusting to do that. 

We woke up Hayden. We had a fashion show. He loved every minute trying on clothes and modeling them. He is starting to care what he looks like and has a pretty good eye for what looks good together. 

I absolutely loved sitting on the couch and Hayden coming out with a new outfit on and laughing and modeling. I loved that at $2 a shirt, I could say yes to everything that looked good on him. I enjoyed listening to him decide what looked good on him and why he felt that way. 

All three of us laughed and had a great time picking our clothes and deciding what to buy and keep and what to send back. 

I loved being apart of the process rather than sending him with someone else to pick clothes. Better yet, was that I was able to purchase ALL of Hayden's clothes for this fall/winter in one evening. And the cost was unbeatable. 5 pairs of jeans and 10 shirts, which is everything he needs besides his school uniform shirts, for a total of $60. Some of the items even had tags on them. 

Blessings come in all shapes and sizes, if we are really look for them. Prayers are answered all the time although sometimes in very different ways than we expect the blessings to come. 

I prayed for the "extra" money to buy Hayden the things he needed. I prayed for the energy and strength to shop for the clothes with him. I expected the blessings to come in the form of extra cash and increased energy. Instead, The Lord met my needs and answered my prayers in his own unique ways. 1) He provided clothes for Hayden at a discounted cost that didn't require us receiving additional money. 2) Instead of miraculously giving me more strength, I was provided an opportunity to have the fun experience with Hayden and Thomas picking clothes from the comfort of my own home and without leaving the couch. 

Does The Lord hear and  answer my prayers? Absolutely! All the time even if I do not immediately see the answer. 

Dear Hayden, if I can teach you anything, please know that your mom has a testimony of the power of prayer! The Lord answers. He always answers. Sometimes we have to search harder to see the blessings, but they are there. The Lord hears our pleas, regardless of the size. He blesses us with all things we stand in need of... look for his blessings and the tender mercies he sends. They are there, they are sometimes just packaged much differently than we expect. However, they come. They always come.