Prayers and Bears

While we were in Island Park for our family reunion we all went to Yellowstone for the day. We started out at Old Faithful and ate lunch at a picnic area there. My eight year old nephew Carter said the prayer on lunch and asked in his prayer if we could see some animals that day, especially bears. After seeing Old Faithful, we headed off to see other parts of Yellowstone. As we were driving in the car we saw bull elk, deer, bald eagles, buffalo, and lots of beautiful scenery. We saw no bears. Often as we were driving I would look over and see Carter with his arms folded, his eyes closed, and his head bowed. I could tell he was saying a prayer. He told me he was praying to see a bear. Well, the day went on and we had seen everything we were going to see and needed to head home. I have to admit, I also said a prayer and basically said, "Lord, you cannot ignore the prayers of this precious child, please help us to see a bear". I also have to admit that I desperately wanted to see a bear living in the wild. I have never seen one before except at the zoo or the Grizzly Discovery Center and I wanted to see one almost as badly as Carter did.

As we were driving to leave the park, we passed some bull elk that we had seen earlier in the day and they had changed their positions so we wanted to stop again and get some better pictures. While taking pictures, I turned out of the blue to one of the rangers that was there and said to him, "do you know where the bears have been seen in the park today?" And he says to me, "actually there is one about 2 miles from here and I am headed there now. If you want to follow me I will take you there right now".

So we ran back to the car and headed to where the bear was, and sure enough, there he was!! It was a big grizzly bear and he was just grazing in some wildflowers enjoying himself.

What an absolute miracle! Carter was in complete amazement, and I have to admit, I was too. A lot of things had to come together just right for us to see a bear that day, and only the Lord is capable of making them happen. It was a small thing for Him to do, but a huge miracle and teaching moment for us. It is amazing how a bear can turn into a huge blessing and testimony builder. I am so thankful for the tender mercies of the Lord and this faith building experience.