Three Christmas Miracles

Photo byChris Sharp at "FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In the first part of my faith life, God had to shout in order to be heard over the din of my worry, fear and impatience. As I learned to trust, His voice softened and yet it still held surprises, such as the unexpected appearance of a rainbow or particular scripture. Psalm 37 is one of these.  In the past the appearance of this scripture was a forerunner to major miracles, like meeting and marrying my husband.

This past week, a friend posted a video titled, A Letter from God.  The music and the scripture verses were beautiful, but it was late and I was tired. I decided to save the post and watch it later. However, an internal voice urged me to take the extra few minutes and listen.

Psalm 37: 3 -5 was one of the listed scriptures. "Trust in the Lord and do good and dwell in the land, and thou shalt be fed with its riches. Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart. Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in him and he will do it".

Which desires of my heart was He referring to?

During my morning devotions my bible fell open to 1 Peter: 1-3: "In like manner also let wives be subject to their husbands: that if any believe not the word, they may be won without the word by the conversation of the wives."

I read this before under very strange circumstances and understood it did indeed refer to my husband. We had an agreement. He would never interfere with the practicing of my faith and I promised to never preach or talk about God with him. But on occasion, he would ask about which church I attended and what the sermon was about. These conversations have always been very brief and he has never attended with me.

On Saturday, we went to the market. The first miracle occurred there. My husband donated money to a charity. He’s never done that for as long as we've been married.

When we arrived home, there was a brochure on the front door. It was an invitation to a church service less than five minutes from the house. As I had yet to find a church home in our area, I was intrigued, but not sure I wanted to attend and set the brochure aside.

On Sunday, I decided to attend the new church at the last minute, literally. I had three minutes to get there.  Google said it would take four. So, I made a pact with myself. If others were still walking in when I arrived, I’d stay for the service. If not, I’d turn around and go home.

When I pulled into the parking lot, numerous couples were still filing into the church. I kept my word and went in.  I haven’t had as warm a reception from a church community since leaving my hometown. In addition, the service was beautiful, the sermon meaningful and the music masterfully done and inspirational.  After the service, one of the older gentlemen realized I was a visitor and immediately ushered me into the community hall to share in the coffee and fellowship.

When I got back home, Bill asked about my experience and the sermon.  I joyfully told him all the details and mentioned how I’d like to attend the candlelight service on Christmas Eve. The third and biggest miracle happened then. My husband said he’d like to attend the service with me.

I wasn't expecting anything this Christmas, let alone three miracles granting the deepest desires of my heart.