 |
| Photo by SJ Baren on Unsplash |
We also are blessed and thankful to have such a beautiful home, loving family, and good friends.
The list goes on, but these are the topmost.
This year, besides listing the things I'm most thankful for, I want to pull a story from the archives and share this once again. Although this incident did not occur on Thanksgiving, it did involve a turkey and even after twenty some years I can't look at one without thinking of this miracle. God does indeed clothe us, pay our bills, and does the extraordinary through the very ordinary.
A rescue helicopter appeared and lowered a rope. A rescuer yelled down for the man to grab the rope and they would hoist him up to safety. The man waved them off. God was going to rescue him and he didn’t need the helicopter. The crew shook their heads at the man’s foolishness and moved off.
Two men came by in a row boat and offered to take him with them. The man refused their help also, again stating God was going to rescue him.
A surge of water swept the man off the roof and he drowned. Standing before God he asked why He hadn’t saved him as He had promised.
God replied, “I sent you a helicopter and a row boat, what more did you want?”
Whatever God sent my way, by whatever means, I would not decline the offer. I would look for and accept a helicopter or a row boat, but I didn't expect Him to send a turkey.
A twenty pound turkey, thawed and ready to cook, sat in my kitchen sink. I really didn't believe it just materialized out of thin air. Someone had to put it there, and only one person outside my family who had a key to the house, my mother.
I called her, and listened to a story almost as amazing as if the bird had suddenly materialized out of nothing.
The freezer belonging to a woman on the other side of town malfunctioned. She was able to salvage most of the food by either cooking it or transferring to the small freezer in her refrigerator, except for the twenty pound turkey. She offered it to a neighbor. The neighbor accepted it, but passed it to a friend. That friend decided she didn't want it and passed it on to someone else.
This was repeated over and over until the bird crossed town and landed at my mother's doorstep. My dad hated turkey, but Mother knew my family and I loved it. She brought it down to the house and set it in my sink just before I arrived.
I marveled at the timing. It was early afternoon and I had plenty of time to cook the large bird. As with the feeding of the five-thousand, we not only had enough for dinner, but enough to last for several days until the next paycheck.
My late husband had been laid off for weeks. My part-time job and his unemployment benefits barely met our basic necessities. With three kids still at home our grocery bill was bigger than our house payment and that week we were flat broke with several more days to payday. Things looked pretty grim with a bare pantry.
As I drove home, I remembered this story.
A flood ravaged a small community, forcing many residents onto their roofs to await rescue. One man looked at the water already lapping against his ankles and realized he couldn't wait too much longer to be rescued. Desperate, he cried out to God to rescue him. God promised He would.
Two men came by in a row boat and offered to take him with them. The man refused their help also, again stating God was going to rescue him.
A surge of water swept the man off the roof and he drowned. Standing before God he asked why He hadn’t saved him as He had promised.
God replied, “I sent you a helicopter and a row boat, what more did you want?”
Author Unknown
Whatever God sent my way, by whatever means, I would not decline the offer. I would look for and accept a helicopter or a row boat, but I didn't expect Him to send a turkey.
A twenty pound turkey, thawed and ready to cook, sat in my kitchen sink. I really didn't believe it just materialized out of thin air. Someone had to put it there, and only one person outside my family who had a key to the house, my mother.
I called her, and listened to a story almost as amazing as if the bird had suddenly materialized out of nothing.
The freezer belonging to a woman on the other side of town malfunctioned. She was able to salvage most of the food by either cooking it or transferring to the small freezer in her refrigerator, except for the twenty pound turkey. She offered it to a neighbor. The neighbor accepted it, but passed it to a friend. That friend decided she didn't want it and passed it on to someone else.
This was repeated over and over until the bird crossed town and landed at my mother's doorstep. My dad hated turkey, but Mother knew my family and I loved it. She brought it down to the house and set it in my sink just before I arrived.
I marveled at the timing. It was early afternoon and I had plenty of time to cook the large bird. As with the feeding of the five-thousand, we not only had enough for dinner, but enough to last for several days until the next paycheck.
Since that miracle, whenever I'm faced with difficult circumstances, I think of helicopters, rowboats, and turkeys - for truly nothing is impossible with God.
I like your header image.
ReplyDeleteGosh, this turkey story brought tears to my eyes. It's a wonderful story.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you, Priscilla. Happy Thanksgiving and many blessings to you and your family!
ReplyDelete