Do you ever pray…yet doubt? I certainly do. And my parents did.  My father was the youngest of five brothers. They all got married and then – one after another – my aunts and uncles all had sons. No daughters, just sons. Initially, my own parents followed that same pattern. Boys. Lots of boys.  After four sons of their own (along with two late-term miscarriages that also were boys) my dad and mom were passionate about having a daughter. They prayed fervently for a girl. They specifically asked God to bless them with a girl.  Yet when I was born, they didn’t even have a girl’s name picked out! Only a boy’s name. So I was nick-named “Sweet Pea” for 3 days while they decided what my name should be.  I find this fascinating, and so revealing, about how hard it can be for us to actually believe that God might respond to our prayers. About how easy it is for us to believe that patterns of life have been set in motion which won’t change.  Despite th...