Forget Not...

Today I'm linking up with Online Bible Studies at www.melissataylor.org, where we're talking about less stress.  This week, we're studying Chapter 10 of Tracey Miles's book Stressed Less Living, which talks about being broken so that God can use us.  It's a short chapter but packed full of hope for real-life.  

Chapter 10 talks about 1 Kings 17, where Elijah meets a widow at God's command and asks for her help.  Even though she is helpless herself, she pitches in and a miracle occurs, where she is cared for and there is enough for Elijah to boot.

God takes the broken, the helpless, and makes use of it every day, and even today, there are true live miracles.

When I was four years old, my Mom was dropping a card table off at the house of one of her cheerleaders.  It was in September, and it was hot.  She left me in the backseat because she was literally just walking a few feet away.  It was hot.  I was hot.  Even as a four year old, I knew how to solve that problem, so I proceeded to crawl over the seat and attempt to turn on the ignition.  The next thing I knew, I was curled up in a ball on the driver's side floorboard (with the door open, mind you), as the car went bouncing down a hill, hitting trees and careening toward the blacktop road, and the river, below.

To tell the truth, I don't really remember that day much; after all, it's been almost 30 years ago.  My Mom remembers it perfectly, though.  As soon as she heard the car start crashing through the tree line, she took off running behind it... down the steep hill.  Through the woods.  She broke off a heel on her shoes.  She had on a skirt and briars and tree limbs cut her legs.  All the while she could hear the car bouncing off trees and occasionally see a flash of metal as it continued.

And then there was a tree... no more than about four foot high.  Somehow, the car lodged against that tree.  I know how... because the Bible says that His angels are camped all around us.  And while I'm not sure if I actually remember this or if I am making it up in my mind, I'm pretty sure there was an angel hovering right over me in that floorboard. 

By the time Mom got to me, I was crawling out the busted back windshield.  My glasses were broken, and I had a small knot on my head, but Mom looked worse than I did. We painstakingly made our way back up the hill, Mom pushing me up by my bottom and then pulling herself up.  I don't know how long it took us to get back to the top.  Mom went back to the house where she had been dropping off that card table and knocked on the door.  The man who lived there had been taking a nap and never even knew we had been there, but as Mom recounted the story, the first question he asked was, "And where do you go to church?"

Miracles do happen. That's just one example.  He protects His people.  He loves us and is our defender and our strength.  Some things, we just have to accept.

And remember.  Everytime I recount that story, I'm reminded that God has a purpose for my life. There's something He's intending me to do.  Everyday, as I live and learn and love... He's working behind the scenes.

These miracles sometimes may not even be too obvious. It may be the miracle of forgiveness where a heart was stony, or the miracle of you feeling better when just a few minutes before you had a headache.  I don't know how many times I've prayed for God to help me find my keys when I was in a hurry, only to see them laying right there.

We just have to keep looking, and keep giving Him glory.  And remember... tell our children.  Deuteronomy 6 talks about telling our children the words of the Lord... His testimony and His commandments.  Deuteronomy 8:18 says, "And thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is He that giveth thee power." Psalm 103:2 says, "Praise the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits."

Big or small, those benefits and miracles increase our faith.  And they show us that above all, His grace is sufficient.