Today I received this email from a gal who read Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God. I’ve changed the names, but I wanted to see if you amazing readers had encouragement for this mom. Please respond in the comment section:

Hi Mary, I just completed reading your book !! It was fabulous! I am passing it along to a friend of mine who asked to read it when I was done. I hope she enjoys reading it as much as I have!

Even though I am not a stay at home mom, I could relate to so much you have written, (being you were a former English teacher I am sure I will make your cringe with my grammar).

I have a daughter Emily who is a very charming young lady, she is 11 years old. However, she really struggles in school. She is more of a tom boy than the scholastic type and has been retained once in the 2nd grade. She may also have to repeat 5th grade, unless she can really buckle down in the last 3 months of school. We are hoping and praying for the best.

When she does not do well on a test, she looks to God for answers and asks why didn’t you help me God when I prayed to you? We both pray every day to see a turn around for her, and our faith. I am running out of things to tell her when she asks me why God will not answer her prayers. I have told her several times that God is a patient and we need to allow time for him to work for us. I have told her so many different things to give her faith. Can you please give me and Emily some help, possibly scriptures in the Bible we can read together?

My response:

Wow, it sounds like Emily has had a hard time in school. It must be hard to have her pray and then seem like God doesn’t answer that prayer. I do know that God is near to the brokenhearted, as He was near to me when I was growing up. My story of a difficult childhood is chronicled in the book Building the Christian Family You Never Had, and there are several scriptures I’d point you both to:

2 Corinthians 12: 9-10. Even in our weaknesses, God is strong.

My very favorite one for struggling kids is: “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no many may boast before God” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).I believe God delights to take our shabbiness and our inability because when He does, He can shine all the more through it. If I’m out of the way, it gives room for God to be big. So, I see my limitations (which are many) as a vehicle God can use to show His power. Does that make sense?