The opening for this blog nearly hit me last night. As I was enjoying an evening walk down the streets of this vibrant city known as Lakewood, I saw something coming towards me out of the corner of my eye. I instinctively ducked and then heard a loud thud. Without turning around, I knew exactly what happened. My mind began processing the whole incident. Why in the world had it done that? Was it coming at me? Was it mad? Did it just lose it's sense of direction? I hope it's not dead. It's probably dead.
I slowly turned around and saw a full grown robin lying on the ground. It's wings spread wide, beak open, and head twitching. I was sure it was good as dead. I wasn't going to leave it though. Too much foot traffic, too many cars, and many creatures that would have loved to end it's existence. So I sat there and watched it. I warned people passing by as some nearly squashed it by not paying attention. I sent out a post on the community page, hoping someone nearby could rescue it.
Finally a police officer passed by and I got his attention. I explained the situation and he said he'd call the animal control people. By now the bird had managed to stand up, but still seemed as if it wasn't going anywhere. I watched him all the more, making sure nothing happened to him. Then, a few minutes later, a passerby nearly kicked him. I warned the guy, but he was a bit closer than the bird liked. Suddenly, as if by miracle, the bird jumped into the air and flew to the safety of a nearby tree.
I sat there stunned. I just witnessed the little guy crash full force into a window, which is fatal in most cases, nearly get trampled, and in a matter of no longer than 15 minutes, make a full recovery and fly away.
People claim today that miracles don't exist. They say people don't walk on water, can't be healed by a single touch, be raised from the dead, so on and so forth. They're looking for the wrong kind of miracles.
Here's the thing. Miracles are happening everyday. They come in all shapes, forms, and ways. Some examples include but are not limited to a drug addict becoming clean, someone's cancer disappearing and never coming back, the person who received a meal after going days without one, a baby being born, or that bird that hit a window and was surely going to die, but made a full recovery.
I had a fair share in my life and even dedicated entire blog posts to them before. Today I'm giving you the highlights of some of them just so you can really see that miracles do exist.
After I had finished my second year of college, I took a year off to do a Christian training. Halfway through that year, we were given two weeks break for the holidays and to get our bearings straight. I had this week long trip planned to North Carolina to visit another trainee and his family. The first day of break, I get a Grand Jury summons in the mail. This was the worst timing ever. Not just for the trip, but for the rest of my training. This is where I looked to the Lord. I had no idea why this happened then, but I trusted him. After days of prayer, I had to be in Toronto for a youth conference. If I got deferred, I'd have no way of knowing until the day before I was scheduled to leave for NC. A few days later, on the way home from Toronto, the moment we we're in the US, I checked my phone. There was an email from the court. I was not deferred...I had been fully released! How often do you hear of someone getting released from Gran Jury duty for a Christian training?
The next instance was when I was 20 years old. I had my driver's license for a year. I was in a bad mood on a slightly rainy day. I was caught in traffic, but had a clear lane next to me. Problem was is that I was at a dead stop. Annoyed by the guy in front of me trying to make an impossible left turn due to the traffic, I pulled out into the other lane and right into the side of a brand new 2012 ford focus. I was driving a big suburban and barely going 5mph so my car barely had a scratch. I put a huge dent int the Focus. No one was hurt...just my wallet. I had just finished the Christian training and since I wasn' working the previous year, I didn't have much money and wouldn't be receiving a paycheck for at least another month. The ticket I got (because making a lane shift from a dead stop is illeagal in Ohio) took 60% of what I had left. I didn't know if I was going to last a month. Guess what. I did. So this was a double miracle. No one got hurt and my needs were met.
One of the worst debts to have are student loans. Unlike a single car loan or a mortgage, they pile up so fast in 4-6 years and then hit you with mad interest once you graduate. It's the main cause for so many debt issues in the US. I was in college for five years worth of classes. I didn't have any scholarships by my third year and the financial aid didn't cover everything. Now Cleveland State is on the cheaper side of college tuition, but college is still expensive. Thankfully I was smart enough to put money away from co-ops I had done as part of my engineering program. I wasn't actually putting it away for school, but rather to build up savings. I talked to the Lord about this one a lot. On a great deal of faith, I asked Him to allow me to come out of college with no debt and $500 left in my savings. Graduation came and I got my final loan statement. I checked my savings and saw that I had exactly enough to pay off the loans and with about $250 left over. Some would say that the Lord didn't come through because it didn't turn out exactly how I wanted. I didn't have $500 left, but somehow had just enough to pay off all my student loans and be free from one of the most awful debts in the US...
...but this miracle doesn't end here. A couple weeks later, my state refund check came in. Can you guess the amount? Yup, $250. I put that into my savings and there sat the $500 I had asked for.
This last one happened last year. If you have been reading my blog since July of 2017, you'll know this one all too well. I had been job hunting for a year since I graduated. By the time July 2017 hit, I was down to $72 to my name and had no idea what I was going to do. But during that year, I put my trust into my Lord. I ended up doing a lot of projects for the church, helping out people when they needed it because I had plenty of time on my hands, and filling in for an after-care program for pre-school children for a year. Even with all of that, having trust in the Lord, didn't make the anxiousness or uncertainty completely go away. Then, on July 10th, 2017, I got a phone call saying General Electric had made me an offer. At my wit's end, not knowing what I was going to do, the Lord came through with another miracle. I have been at this job for a year. It is almost everything I wanted for a first job. Not too far from home, co-workers my age who are social, a boss who's super chill, and it covers my expenses.
This is how the Lord cares for us. Like that bird I mentioned earlier. We struggle and hit walls in our lives. But rather than instantly fix everything, He brings us through our struggles and pain. In a metaphorical sense, keeps people from kicking us, dogs trying to eat us, and teaches us how to overcome hitting that window. Then smiles as we spread our wings and soar. So don't look for someone walking on water. Don't go seeking out the Red Sea being split in two. Reflect upon the events of your life and you may just find that miracles exist.
