Does
God work miracles in the lives of believers today? My pastor calls
these “God stories”, and he has plenty of them, as do a lot of
us. This happened to me this past July.
I
walked out my front door and stopped dead in my tracks in amazement.
I park my 1992 pickup truck directly in front of my house, and this
morning it was gone! Gone. For a minute or so I just couldn't
understand what had happened to it, but unbelievably, it had been
stolen. It's old and not in the best condition, but it's vital to
me. In the mornings I'd been helping a family member who had a brain
infection and now through inactivity had deteriorated to the point
that she was unable to even get up to the bathroom. Since her
husband called me about a month before and told me how bad things had
gotten, I'd gone over and spent every weekday morning with her doing
exercises. She'd improved greatly, but she would need a lot more
help before she'd be able to make it through the day on her own.
Then in the afternoons I help Harold and Sue, my former in-laws, with
their family business. Harold fixes commercial cooking equipment,
and I help Sue with the bookkeeping. I'm glad to help my family in
these ways, but without a vehicle it would be impossible. Riding the
bus would take too much time to do what I need to do for them
effectively.
So
immediately I went to my Father in prayer. When I first started to
pray, I felt desperate, but as I continued to beseech Him I felt a
calm and certain sense of peace fill my heart. And since I know that
my Father can do anything He chooses, I began to thank Him and
praise Him.
I
had absolute faith that he would help me. Either the truck would be
found or he would make another way for me.
I
called my daughter who had left for work at 6:30 am. “Was my truck
in front of the house when you left for work?” I asked her.
“Yeah,
of course,” she asked. “Why?”
“It's
gone!” I said. “Since you left two and a half hours ago,
someone took it.”
So
whoever had taken it had taken it in broad daylight. My next step
was to notify the police, who took a report over the phone, and then
I took off walking to see if maybe it had been dumped near my house,
but it hadn't.
I
called a friend and we drove around for a bit before he had to go to
work, but we didn't find it. When we got back I went to ask Kate, my
neighbor across the street, to ask if she'd seen or heard anything.
She said she'd heard it start up and go down the street about 8:00,
but that she hadn't looked because she thought that it was me,
leaving a little bit early. She came and sat with me on my lawn
while and we talked about it. We've know each other for some time
and she has different beliefs than I, but we talk often about what we
believe.
“You
seem so calm about it,” she commented.
“At
first I was really shook up,” I told her. “But I prayed about
it, and felt an overwhelming sense of peace. Either I'll get my
truck back, or I'll somehow get access to another. Either way, I
felt like God was telling me that it would turn out okay and I won't
let the people down who I'm trying to help.”
She
looked at me with skepticism, and I couldn't blame her. She doesn't
believe in God in the way that I do; she believes there is something
out there, but she's not sure who or what. We spent some time
talking, and I finally called Sue to see if I could borrow her car to
look for mine. I'd have asked earlier, but I had really thought that
the police would have located it by now.
They
live about thirty minutes away from me on the edge of town. Several
miles away the countryside starts, and I thought somewhere out there
would be a good spot if someone had taken a joy ride and dumped it.
I began my search out there, listening to Christian music and praying
hard for guidance. I'd only looked for a few miles when I felt that
I was looking in the absolute wrong place. It's not far from home
kept running through my mind. So I hopped on the freeway back to my
side of town, continuing to pray and worship with the music.
And
not a mile from my house, parked in an apartment complex where the
parking spots couldn't be seen from the street, THERE IT WAS! My
heart hammered in my chest as I parked Sue's car back out on the
street and ran back to my truck. Had they stolen parts out of it or
would it start? I turned the key on and that beautiful V-8 engine
roared to life. I drove home bursting with excitement, praising God
all the way. Kate happened to be out front watering her flowers as I
pulled up. She came running across the street.
“How'd
you get it back?” she asked with a stunned look on her face.
“Found
it. I believed all day that God would help me, but I didn't think
it would be this fast,” I said. I was stunned myself at the speed
at which he'd helped me. I really thought that he'd use the police.
But having me find it personally seemed to be such a personal
answer.
My
daughter had just gotten home from work, so she gave me a ride to
pick up Sue's car.
I
can only imagine what the thief must have thought! I would have
loved to have seen the look on their face when they discovered it
gone. Driving it out of there felt like a victory in the wild west!
Even
the police were surprised when I called them to tell them I'd
recovered my truck. And I made a vow that very day that every time I
told the story, I'd give the credit where due: my Father who loves
me. My neighbor Kate has said that she's rethinking her opinion.
Matthew 7:7-11 Ask
and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the
door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who
seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which
of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he
asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are
evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Mark
11:22-24 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you
the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into
the sea,' and does not doubt in his hear but believes that what he
says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you,
whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours.
The cowgirl antenna ball lives on! If only she could talk....