Miracles, Signs and Wonders

I'm glowing. Right now there is the biggest, chessiest grin on my face. Wanna know why? Because the God of the Universe, my Father, gave me a miracle yesterday. It wasn't anything along the lines of making me mute or deaf. I wasn't raised from the dead, and I haven't taken any jaunts on any water lately. It was exactly what I needed at the exact time I needed it.

Let me start at the beginning. Tuesday night my friend Katie called me. Now Katie is a real smart cookie. She has the uncanny ability to look at me and see me. Not the fancy smokescreen dog and pony show that I can turn on and off like a switch. Anyways, I was invited to a Tuesday night cg's birthday celebration at Cheesecake Bistro for Laura Marks. (She turned 21. Happy Birthday Beautiful!) As we are sitting in the waiting area, Katie calls my cell. She'd had a big weekend and I thought she was calling me to tell me how it went, so I ran outside to take her call. Nope, not one word about her weekend, she called to check on me. She's asking how I am, why I'm taking the actions that I am, etc. Not getting angry or judgmental with me, just trying to understand where I'm coming from. So I tell her I've fallen for every doubt I've encountered lately and have no clue what I'm doing. I tell her I know that I'm not supposed to be quitting anything yet I'm too weak to do anything about it. She listens to every little piece of my heartbreak and then says, I think its going to hurt you more by not serving. I see you when you serve, you love it. Its written all over your face. She's right. Don't get me wrong, I get tired. And there are times when I just need a break. But its my form of worship. I don't have a beautiful voice that brings others closer to heaven. I have a heart that serves others. Its not full of flash and fanfare. Its just a sincere desire to serve others to glorify and point to my God. So after we get done talking she asks if she can pray for me. She said what is it going to take for you to understand that God is faithful? So I, kind of flippantly, said, "A miracle. God speaking to me in an audible voice." She replies, Ok, that's exactly what we'll pray for. I almost laughed out loud. A miracle? I don't have the faith for a miracle. Other people get miracles. People who have the faith to move mountains get miracles. (And for those who know their Bible, yes, I know that to move a mountain, the size of your faith only needs to be the size of a mustard seed.) People in third world countries who live on faith and little else get miracles. As she's praying I'm hoping and praying that Katie has enough faith for the both of us. Because I'm running pretty low in the faith category. She gets done praying, and I go eat cheesecake. Keep in mind this is tuesday night....

Wednesday morning my cell phone starts ringing. I didn't recognize the number. Usually I don't pick up the phone if I don't recognize the number. But then I had the thought that it might be one of my students. I'm not a teacher, but I work with college kids all over the state, so it might be one of them. So I pick it up. It's Rob. From the Ring Rob. He's calling to see why I wasn't at the Southern shelter the day before. I tell him that I'm pretty much quitting anything and everything that resembles service in an effort to get my focus back on God. He says, Well, I've been praying for you and it sounds like you still need prayer. I'll keep at it, but I don't think this is what you should be doing. I tell him I agree with him, thank him, and hang up....

As I'm sitting at my desk three minutes after the phone call, I hear in my right ear, "I'm loving on you through them." And then I recall all the phone calls, emails, blog comments, text messages that have come in the past few days. People just coming out of the woodwork to love on me and help me up as I've fallen flat on my face. So if you were one of the ones who took the time and followed God's leading to love on me, THANK YOU!!! You were my first miracle!! God used you to let me know that even though I fall short He still has me and has a good and perfect plan for my life. I'm so humbled and awed by His grace and the next time I see any one of you, I'm totally gonna love on you. Just wanted to give you fair warning....