Full Circle
Dixie Phillips
For as long as I can remember my maternal grandmother testified often about the first
time she ever prayed. It was around 1935 at a local park in downtown Minneapolis.
She had two little daughters at that time. (Aunt Dolores was fifteen months older than
my mom. They look to be around three and four-years-old in the black and white
picture provided.)
Grandma was in an abusive marriage. Her husband was in and out of jail. She had
endured repeated episodes of domestic violence and was at a crossroads. She took her
girls to Elliott Park to wade in the free community wading pool that was a few blocks
from their apartment, and hoped to clear her head and figure things out.
Grandma had never attended a church service or prayed before in her life, but she was
desperate and decided to give God a chance to prove if He was real or not. She prayed
this simple prayer, “God, if You’re there, help me.”
Immediately, she sensed God heard her, and she was shocked to hear Him whisper in
her soul, “Take your daughters and move back to Iowa near your family. You’ll find
what you’re looking for there.”
Grandma did just that. And in the next few years she had a personal encounter with
Jesus that changed her life, eternal destiny, and our family forever.
More than sixty years later, my husband and I couldn’t believe our oldest daughter
Rachel had graduated for high school and was getting ready for college. She chose
North Central University in downtown Minneapolis to further her education. We loaded
our firstborn with all her stuff and headed to NCU for orientation for her freshman year.
We pulled up to Rachel’s dorm and a friendly NCU student greeted us, offering to help
carry Rachel’s things to her room. As he loaded the heavy tubs and suitcases on a cart,
he pointed across the street and said, “Rachel, that’s Elliott Park. The students enjoy a
lot of downtime there.”
Elliott Park!!!!!!!!!!! I immediately crossed the street. As my feet touched the sacred
soil where Grandma’s frightened feet had fled in terror, I realized that God had
answered her prayer above and beyond her wildest dreams.
I grabbed my camera and started snapping pictures of everything in and around the
park. When we returned home, I hurried to show Grandma the pictures. I asked her if
she knew where these pictures had been taken. She nodded and said, “That’s Elliott
Park. The trees sure have grown!”
The next trip to NCU……Mom went with us. We found the exact spot where she stood
six decades earlier with Aunt Dolores under their little umbrella. We took a quick
picture. (See color photo. You can see the same steps and building in the background.)
Tears filled my eyes. It was a full circle faith moment. I knew we were standing on holy
ground. It was evident that our eighteen-year-old daughter’s spiritual destiny really
started sixty-two years previous, when her great-grandmother asked God for help. He
was still answering Grandma’s prayer.
There is power in prayer….. even a simple prayer!!!!
