When I was in early elementary school I would knock on my grandparents’ door, and my Granny would answer, “Who is that knocking on my door?” I would giggle, and in my deepest, meanest voice I would reply, “The BIG BAD WOLF!” As she opened the door, she would smile and say, “The big bad wolf isn’t welcome here, but my lil’ girl is.”
Little did I know, the Big Bad Wolf, or as we know him Satan would come a-knockin’ at my door pretty consistently throughout my life. My dad died of a heart attack at 32, and I was seven. Two months later my mom’s dad died, and a month later a horse fell on my mom which broke her pelvic bone and caused her to spend time in the hospital.
The Big Bad Wolf was lurking and setting me up to fail. He huffed and puffed, but wasn’t able to knock me down completely. As if this wasn’t enough to cause one to stumble through life and doubt that there was a God who loved them I would go through more traumatic events. The above-mentioned trauma would cause me to have abandonment issues, and not only that but I dealt with suicidal thoughts as a teenager and into my young adult years. Depression, negative thoughts and self-doubt have always been a struggle.
There is more depth to my story that would leave you scratching your head wondering how I turned out the way I did. I would love to say that The Big Bad Wolf stopped knockin’ at my door, but that would be a tale of its own. Just like anyone, my adult life has been riddled with bad decisions, heartbreak, and struggles. The difference is I have a personal relationship with Jesus, and even when my world gets dark from the storm clouds rolling in, and the waves won’t stop crashing around me, I know Jesus is in control.
Looking back at my life there is no doubt that Satan was out to destroy me long before I even knew he existed. My childhood was no cakewalk, and knowing what I know now, prayers had to be constantly going up for me to turn out the way I did. I wonder how often my grandparents prayed for the Big Bad Wolf to leave me alone and told him that he couldn’t harm me and that I would become a child of God protected by the God of angel armies.
My grandparents were Godly people who believed in God’s word and though they didn’t talk to me about their faith they lived it out every time I walked into their home. I was always met with welcome arms and could feel my grandparents' love for me when I entered their house. I never doubted their love for me.
Even though I didn’t realize it at the time the love and prayers of my grandparents kept me going. I have no doubt that because of my grandparents’ faithfulness to God, the Big Bad Wolf couldn’t completely destroy me; although he sure did try. Satan would try throughout my childhood to knock me down and lead me astray, but his plans were averted. I sit here today, not because of anything that I did, but because my grandparents were faithful in prayer and by the grace of God.
“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16b
