Miracle Moments: Pass 'em on!

Human beings have an abominable tendency to think too much of themselves.

That’s why we need mandatory seat belt laws. You get behind the wheel of your car, and somehow you’re invincible. You got this.

But just step onto one of those corkscrew rides at Six Flags (where there’s far less chance of a high-speed collision) and watch how carefully you strap on all those bars and harnesses!

Because now it’s out of your hands, right? Hmmm. It’s all a matter of perception, isn’t it?

As we told our kids when they were learning to drive, an accident by definition is an unplanned event. Even with our hands on the steering wheel, it’s out of our hands. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

One of our most enduring family traditions is a Memorial Day camping trip to Turkey Creek in the Chiricahua Mountains. One such trip years ago – when the family car was a VW squareback and the kids still fit into it – came at a particularly trying financial juncture.

That was the year that three sleeping bags at once decided they were overworked and underpaid and expired into a heap of moth-eaten fibers in the shed. Now, this is perfectly logical, when you consider that camping equipment union rules clearly state that it's illegal for one sleeping bag to wear out at a time. Strikes must be declared in force.

Little did we realize, however, that the cargo trailer we had borrowed from the neighbor belonged to the same union, until we were crossing a cattle guard in The Middle of Nowhere (a specific location known to all seasoned campers). The trailer gleefully recognized the perfect spot to develop a broken hitch which, of course, could only be remedied with an immediate welding job. Needless to say, there’s never a welding shop around when you need one, especially not in The Middle of Nowhere.

My poor hubby had to flag down an unsuspecting motorist to take him to a place that could do the job. That was also the year that I wound up leaving camp to travel back down the mountain to the local emergency room with various and sundry female complaints. By the time all ills had been cured, we’d be arriving home considerably poorer: in fact, about 200 dollars behind the budget, at a time when that sum was pretty huge and non-existent.

While I hadn’t yet done the math at that point – back while I found myself sitting by the side of the road next to the cattle guard in The Middle of Nowhere – I had a vague enough sense of foreboding to launch one of those not-so-formal mental prayers heavenward: Hi, God, it’s me: I’m thinking we're really going to need some help down here, You know? Thanks…

Well, after five recreational days in the mountains, we were at last homeward bound, cruising down the Interstate in all our glory. The car was full of kids who looked abundantly ready for hot water and indoor plumbing. The trailer, content after its little tantrum, skipped along behind wearing a smile and a halo and carrying the spoils of war: flashlights with expired batteries, Coleman lanterns with disintegrated mantles, empty cooler chests, and dirty laundry.

We noticed a driver in the adjoining lane who kept matching our speed, beeping his horn, and waving to us. Tired and bereft of brain cells, we waved back, thinking he was being friendly. After all, lots of people wave to big families on the road. They think they're cute, as long as they belong to someone else.

At last, the motorist passed us, slowed abruptly, then pulled off on the shoulder and flagged us down. Chris slowed and pulled behind him.

"Maybe there's something wrong with the car," he said as he got out. After a short conversation, the kids and I watched the guy take off down the road. Chris returned with $200 in his pocket. The man had just won a large amount of money at bingo and said that "Something" kept telling him he should give us that exact amount. Or maybe, Someone! This time, it was a verbal outburst of praise and joy: “Thanks, God, we needed that!”

It is such an empowering thing to know that you have been invited to partner in every area of your life with God Almighty, the Creator of the Universe – simply because you’re His kid and He says so.

Do you feel like you’re out of control right now? That’s not such a bad thing, really. Because God is still in control and, trust me: your current crisis has not escaped His notice. In trying times like these, we need to realize that it’s all out of our hands, whether we feel like we’re in control at the moment or not, and that miracles come when we put it in God’s hands.

The good times and the bad. The twists and turns and craziness of this life. Your plans, your family, your children, and your grandchildren. If you have turned that life over to Him, you need to remember that it’s now His property on loan to you – which is pretty awesome, because He takes really good care of what’s His.

As you let go and trust Him with that life, you will see His miraculous power on display there. Just like you can’t wait to give special goodies to your kids, God is waiting for you to ask Him to step in and blow your mind with miracles He has stored up just for you that will become part of your family story.

As we pass this assurance on to our kids, that His miracle care is there for us even when we don’t get that immediate answer all the time – because we won’t necessarily, as God builds character and patience in us – it will become part of their spiritual family heritage to trust God to make His power real to them and their children as well.

Parenting is partnering with God in our greatest earthly endeavor: raising kids. Can we pull this off without God? Can we live a Christian life without God? Can we take our next breath without God? The answer is no, on all counts… and, why in the world would we want to?

Psalm 37:23-26 says: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful and lends, and his descendants are blessed.” What a wonderful secret weapon: let God hold you up in His hands, and you just worry about spreading all those blessings around! The more you give out, the more He gives back, and both you and the kids get to bask in His love and provision – physical, emotional, and spiritual.

Pass this truth down as your gift to the next generation: God is faithful and He is on the job!

Relax. Let go of the wheel. God’s got this. After all, this whole trip was His idea, not ours; we are His spoiled kids and He loves us.

Every now and then, He loves to show us just how much.