WATCHING A MIRACLE UNFOLD

Yes.

This is what it feels like.

Wanna hear about it?!

As many of you know, a little over two years ago, life changed.  It was at that time that it became very apparent to my siblings and I that we needed to step into our parents' lives.

We began a sort of tag-team visitation schedule that continued until my dad fell and landed in the hospital.  Ten days later, he passed away.  This left my mom all alone, after nearly 62 years of marriage.  She was so very scared, so we spent the first six months or so after Dad's death shuttling her around.

This worked for a while, but then everyone became exhausted.  So, we went back to a visitation schedule, with days that Mom spent on her own.  A few months ago, as Mom became increasingly more fearful and confused, we knew we needed to do something more.

But…WHAT to do?

Mom wanted desperately to stay home, and yet, she didn't want to be alone. The dilemma arose when she also wasn't keen on having a *stranger* come in to help out.

Oh, the prayers that went up to heaven in the last several months.

Until…

Until God intervened, and we saw a miracle unfold.


Watch the dominoes fall...

A few months ago, I was down visiting my mom, and I got really sick (domino #1).  Too sick to drive home on the day I had planned to leave.  I stayed a few extra days (domino #2).

Because I was still in town, my brother opted not to come over to Mom's on his "regular" day (domino #3).  Instead, on the spur of the moment, he decided to head down the coast to an outlet store to buy some hiking boots (domino #4).

While there, he decided to try to have lunch with one of our cousins (domino #5).  (My sibs and I have only three first cousins – Dad being one of two sons, and my mom being an only child.  Therefore, we are more like siblings than cousins!)

She was having lunch with our other cousin, and my brother joined them (domino #6).

Of course, they asked all about how their special Auntie was doing.

My brother related some of the struggles we were facing (domino #7).

A bit later in the conversation, my brother asked one of my cousins how her job was going at a local surgical center (domino #8).  (She went back to school to become an R.N. after her boys were grown). 

She then informed him that she wasn't doing that anymore.  She was now working as the RN Case Manager for a company that does in-home caregiver placement for the elderly (domino #9).

I think time stopped at this point…

(I know if I'd been there I would have heard a choir break out into singing!!)

She offered to help us find a caregiver for Mom.  

Incidentally, she mentioned that if this lunch had happened a very few weeks later, she would not have been able to personally help us, as a new franchise was opening in Mom's county, precluding her ability to manage Mom's case (domino #10).


Fast forward to last week.

One thing after another fell rapidly into place, and my mother now has a wonderful Christian woman spending time with her.  

A woman who *just happens* to have lost her own mother.

A woman who *just happened* to hear about a job opportunity through someone she knew, who *just happened* to hear about it from our cousin.

A woman who *just happens* to have experience taking care of elderly people with cognitive challenges.

A woman who in her interview *just happened* to mention her father's passing, and how they played his favorite song at his funeral – "Great Is Thy Faithfulness."  A song taken from Lamentations 3:23.  A verse that *just happens* to be on my dad's headstone.

A woman who *just happens* to be supervised by our cousin, who will personally be managing my mom's case and visiting her on a regular basis.

A woman who *just happens* to be able to cover all the shifts with Mom.

A woman who has stepped into our lives like she's always been there.


My family is standing in awe.

Rarely have I seen such a direct answer to prayer.

I am humbled by it, so very grateful for it – still standing in disbelief at how this has all worked out so perfectly.

The other night, I was talking to another cousin (who has been part of our *care team* for Mom).  We were talking about the *miracle* of this whole situation.

And then she said something that has really stuck with me.

She said, "You know, Sharon, very few people get to see something this miraculous happen.  Few get to see an answer to prayer so directly linked to God's intervention.  I tell you what.  I told Him the other night that no matter what He asked me to do in my life going forward, I would do it.  I am His servant."

After I got off the phone, I couldn't stop thinking about what she said.

First of all, I am rather stunned at all the *just so happened* moments in this journey.  At each turn in the road, there was something that "just happened" right when it needed to happen.  

Like a wonder-full chess match, God was moving each piece into place.  

God works = CHECKMATE!!


I have seen His hand at work like that over and over again in His Word.  

The Bible is full of these moments:

"Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream…" (Genesis 41:1, NASB) – Joseph

"Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns…" 
(Genesis 22:13, NASB) – Abraham

"Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river…She saw the basket among the reeds…" 
(Exodus 2:5, ESV) – Moses

"Now the LORD had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah." 
(Jonah 1:17, NLT) – Jonah

"Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?" 
(Esther 4:14, NLT) – Esther


Even in the life of Jesus and His disciples, there were many, many *just so happened* moments.

Yes, at each twisty turn in His life, there was Someone at work.

The same Someone who is at work in our lives.

There are no coincidences in the believer's life – these moments are *God appointments* – divinely orchestrated by the wise Providence of our Lord.

Not serendipity – but sovereignty.


Now, the other thing that I've really been pondering is this:

When I hung up the phone I thought to myself, "Yes, you have seen a miracle.  Now what are you going to do about it?"

I've been pondering.

What did people do when they saw the miracles of Jesus?

Reactions were mixed.


Some were grateful, others were thankless.

(Remember the ten lepers who were healed?)  

"One of them, when he saw that he was healed…fell to the ground at Jesus' feet, thanking him for what he had done…Jesus asked, 'Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?'" (Luke 17:15-17, NLT)


Some were awed, others were skeptical.  

"But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him." (John 12:37, NLT)


Some wholeheartedly believed that He was who He said He was.  They instantly grasped onto His offer of salvation.

"And many who were there believed in Jesus." (John 10:42, NLT)


Others were threatened by Him, and began plotting to kill Him.

"Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus." (Mark 3:6, NIV)



So, what am I going to do?

Praise Him, thank Him – of course.

Tell others about it – yes indeed.

But I want to do more than that.

I want this Divine Intervention to infuse my faith with more faith.

I want it to make a difference in how I trust God.  

I want it to deepen my understanding of God's faithfulness.

I want it to bring me peace as I face other turmoil in my life.

I want to KNOW more than ever, that God is in control, that He still sits on His throne, that His ways are wise and good and timely.

I want to believe…

Oh Lord, please help my unbelief.


I cannot end this post without one last perfect moment.

My mom's new caregiver has a name very similar to a member of our family, sometimes confusing my mom.  My sister was joking with her about it the other day.  The caregiver suggested, a bit tongue-in-cheek, that we could always call her by her middle name.

"What is your middle name?" my sister asked.

Are you ready for it?

"Oh,” she answered, "It's Grace."

Well yes, of course it is!

God, You are amazing.

Sweetest Mommy.

Full of Joy.

Blessed by Love.

Watched over by Grace. 

"It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness." 
(Lamentations 3:22-23, AMP)

"Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day, even the God Who is our salvation!" (Psalm 68:19, AMP)

"Commit everything you do to the LORD.  Trust him, and he will help you...Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act...Day by day the LORD takes care of the innocent...The LORD directs the steps of the godly.  He delights in every detail of their lives.  Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand...He will keep them safe forever...The LORD rescues the godly...He saves them, and they find shelter in him." (From Psalm 37, NLT)

"Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." (Psalm 55:22, NASB)

"Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully." (1 Peter 5:7, AMP)

"Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.  In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6, AMP)

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." (Romans 8:28, NLT)

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think...to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.  Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21, NASB)



Have you ever witnessed a miracle?  Please share your story!



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