Spotting Miracles

I’ve long spotted big miracles.

Finding a job.

Getting pregnant with triplets.

Answers to health crises.

And sometimes I’ve also resigned myself to the answer being different than the one for which I had prayed.

But it seems lately, within the past five years, I’ve become able to spot God’s love notes in His “small” miracles (small by human scale standards).

Boots found the day before flying to DC with snow on the ground.

Pizzas coming over our fence on the very day the kids had asked to have pizza for dinner.

But it’s not just the classically good surprises where I’m seeing God work.

A week and half ago, the eldest threw up in the middle of the night.  The house is being remodeled, we’re down to one bathroom, and had no working washer and dryer.  While I was sad he got sick, it was nothing short of a miracle he made it from my bedroom to the one working toliet in the house (no laundry required).  And it was another miracle no one else in the house got sick.  We’ve been in those circumstances where we were all sick at the exact same time and it’s NO fun even when you’re not remodeling.

Spotting miracles in the middle of the night.

Then this past week happened.

Loaded down with miracles hiding around the corners.

I was long overdue for an oil change.  With a full time job and a heck of a commute, I’d not been able to squeeze it in for a couple of weeks.  My clients were in Japan, so I decided I could get it done first thing Wednesday morning after dropping the kids at school and work while I waited.  I’d planned to go to an NTB near the school, but my husband suggested I go to a small shop further up the road where he’d previously taken my car.

Embarrassingly, I sort of reacted like a petulant child.  Mostly in my head.  I thought, That’s inconvenient.  Why can’t I decide where to take my car?

After dropping the kids, with full intention to carry out my original plan, I ended up at the last minute taking the turn to drive to the shop he suggested.

Shortly after taking my car in, the man came out with a serious face: Ma’am, your brakes are past the point of no return.  They are gone.  You need to have them replaced.

We had known for a while we had to get around to replacing my breaks, but life intervenes.

I called Bray, told him the price (and where I was), and he said I should get it done right then.

The lovely man drove me home so I could work from home for the next four hours while they repaired my long neglected brakes (and changed my long overdue old oil).  Miraculously, I had absolutely zero meetings on my calendar.  I responded to emails and waited for him to return to pick me up.

Yes, the bill was big. An unexpected expense.

But what if I had driven all the way to my clients, over an hour away, with my shot brakes?  What if I hadn’t gone to the shop Bray suggested and no one looked at the brakes?  Or what if another “upsell” shop found it but Bray didn’t trust the shop to provide honest recommendations?

As I left the car repair shop and drove to Lowe’s to pick up a light and fan I needed for the remodel, I thanked God for watching over me (and the kids!).

Once inside Lowe’s, I FINALLY found a ceiling fan I liked.  I’d made up my mind that almost all ceiling fans are ugly.  Utilitarian and required for our master bedroom because we live Houston, but ghastly.  This one I could work with.  I searched for a Lowe’s employee to help me.  I met Perry.  He was lovely.

Those are special order fans ma’am, that’s why we don’t have them in store, he informed me.

I was bummed but pointed to one box I had found in the corner.  It was open but contained the very fan I was after.  He told me the customer who special ordered it had returned it to the store and if I didn’t mind it being open he’d make me a deal.

Deal, he did!

After nearly buying a fan on line earlier in the week for over $300, I instead went home with my mark down special order fan with the price cut from $199 to $95!!!

Another big love letter from God, even though I’d done absolutely nothing but behave a bit like a petulant child when I woke up that morning. 

Well you know I voxed my best friend and went on and on and on about it.

She’s one of the few people who doesn’t think I’ve lost my mind when I start jumping up and down over the small ways God gifts us with reminders that He loves the big and small things.  He’s involved in the details of my life.

Some people I am close to won’t pray about the “small” things becausee they don’t want to bother God when He’s got so much going on.  I get that.  Why bother Him with this little “nonsense?”

Oh but think of all we miss out on when we leave Him out of all parts of our lives. 

Priscilla Shirer talks about how it’s JUST AS BIG of a miracle that He knows us so intimately and can act in small ways to bring us joy and protect us as it is when He does something “bling-ier” to the outside world.

I am grateful for clean sheets when kids throw up and brakes saved in just the knick of time and sales on pretty ceiling fans.  I’m spotting some of the miracles in the every day but I know there are dozens I miss.  The best thing about miracle spotting though is your miracle-spotting-muscles grow the more you look for God in the quiet corners and busy intersections.