Faith for Custody Problems - UBM [David Eells]

For many years I kept wondering, "Where are my grandchildren?" Then Benjamin arrived. He was worth the wait! And when Father God gave us Benjamin, it seemed something like a package deal because Keith had a first son, Rylan, by an earlier marriage. But I never got to see Rylan. He was off to the mom's house every time I visited, it seemed. When I finally met him, I found Rylan to be a sweet, bright-eyed little guy with unruly red hair and a quick mind. He won my heart immediately! But the rare time with him did not fit my picture of being a "grammy" at all. So I cried out to the Lord about the whole circumstance.

Things regarding Rylan's situation with his mom went from bad to worse. Caroline and Keith began to seek primary custody. When they informed me of their effort, I was encouraged. I knew it was the Lord. As I prayed, the Lord said, "I am going to move on [Rylan's mom's] heart to just hand Rylan over". I told the kids what I heard the Lord say. They tried to be respectful but the looks on their faces said it all. I gave Keith a little pep talk about faith. He confessed that his faith was small. He tried to regale me with past events but I managed to cut him off from reciting the negative past and, instead, to tell him that this time things would be different. We prayed together that God would increase their faith AND hand Rylan over to them, as I had heard Him say.

Several months passed. We all were tested in various ways. One test was an unbelieving family member who was a complete naysayer. I had to tune him out constantly. Another test was keeping my mouth shut. I would see Keith on Facebook looking for evidence against Rylan's mom. I was tempted to say, "Keith, if you would spend time on your knees, instead of surfing Facebook, the case might be over already!" But I resisted the temptation and just prayed instead. Another test came when I was unsure whether to start helping Rylan memorize Bible verses. He was only with us every other week, after all. But I had learned through UBM's teaching that true faith wears shoes! My thoughts became warlike: Yes, he's my grandchild! And my grandchildren learn God's Word, regardless of the difficulties. I made a couple of verses for him. The first one he chose was {Act.16:31} Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (delivered). It didn't even take him long to learn it! (One thing 'experts' DO have correct is the ease with which the young mind memorizes.)

Then, last month, Rylan's mom slapped Keith with a bogus charge of sexual abuse against Rylan. This happened the day before I was due to visit UBM in May/June. I questioned whether I was to even leave Kentucky. But I felt like the Lord was telling me that the BEST WAY to help family members is to follow after Him. He wants us to let Him handle the picayune details of this world.

So I stayed on course and arrived at UBM as planned. When I arrived at the Friday night meeting, I didn't even know prayer groups went on in the morning. But Sandy Shaw asked me to take her to Brother David's for a prayer meeting. When we arrived that Sunday morning, the whole thing about Rylan's case and Keith's court-ordered displacement from his home and family just came pouring out! We prayed in belief that Father was completely controlling the whole situation. Brother David said something to the effect, "This will boomerang against her. Rylan will go to his dad". (I can't remember for certain, but I don't think that I had shared with anybody that the Lord had already told me months earlier that Rylan would come to us.) Rylan's mom's false charge against Keith was exposed and dropped three days later, like a hot potato.

The court date was scheduled for today but it was canceled. Why? Because yesterday her attorney let Keith know that she was just going to hand Rylan over. All she would ask for was just a little visitation. When the attorneys first broached the subject, Keith and Caroline were caught off-guard and were dumbfounded. Keith told me about it on the phone this morning. He said, "It took us a while to understand the legalese. But then we got it! Caroline turned and looked at me and said, 'This is God. Mother told us it would be like this! God is giving Rylan to us!'"

This was the conversation in a Kentucky law office yesterday. God was getting the glory from my daughter's lips! Hallelujah! It won't be official until all the papers are signed by all parties! But I'm celebrating! The Lord is faithful! He has just doubled my 'grammy' opportunities. He's giving me that double restoration that His Word promises! PTL! And He has delivered Rylan, just like the verse Rylan chose: {Act.16:31} Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (delivered).

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