Miracles - big and small
I've seen a lot of small miracles at Christmas-time.
A few years ago, Sara and I (and our dog and cat) were driving to Owensboro from Northern Kentucky. Northern Kentucky had a few inches of snow, but no big deal. Central Kentucky had barely an inch. Western Kentucky, including Owensboro, had nearly 2-feet of snow.
As we got closer and closer to Owensboro, the road conditions worsened. The storm had moved through the day before and we thought roads would be clear. We thought wrong. Thirty miles after passing Elizabethtown (the last decent-sized city until Owensboro) the interstate went from wet to having a foot of snow on the road. We passed car after car stranded on the side of the road as the interstate got progressively worse. The radio, tuned to the trucker overnight show, talked about treacherous travel just to our north.
Then it happened, just after midnight, Christmas Eve morning - the back end of our car started to fishtail. With Sara asleep beside me, I made the decision to intentionally spin out the car so we'd head towards the shoulder instead of the median and possibly the other side of the interstate. We did a 360 degree spin across two lanes of traffic (trust me, very few people were on the road, so there were no cars around us), slid to the shoulder and stopped just short of plowing into the guardrail. Everyone was OK. The car was not damaged. That was miracle number one.
Miracle number two came when someone tried to pull us out with a tow-chain and broke off our tow ring and part of the bumper and neither hit me. Miracle three was next.
We were literally stranded in the middle of no-where. We were 6 miles from the nearest town, and 40 miles from Owensboro. It was sub-zero temperatures. It was treacherous to drive, let alone walk.
One of Sara's family members agreed to come rescue us and drove 80 miles round-trip, through hazardous conditions, and at nearly 1 a.m. to come and get us. We did not reach Owensboro until 4 a.m. local time. If he had not gotten us, I'm not sure what we would have done.
Why do I share this story of my idiocy and misfortune? Because God showed his power. We weren't hurt. The car was undamaged. Someone came and got us and brought us to safety. We lived to tell about it, and even laugh about it now. Those are small miracles compared to some of the mighty things God has done in human history. But for us, those were big deals.
God shows his power all the time. In big ways and in small ways. At Christmas, it was through a virgin birth, a brightened star, by speaking in dreams and sparing the life of the Christ child. God showed his power. He still does.
God is all powerful. We celebrate that at Christmas. We celebrate that God can do all things and chose to bring salvation through a tiny baby, a young couple and an extraordinary set of circumstances.
Thank you, Lord, for showing your power at Christmas.
A few years ago, Sara and I (and our dog and cat) were driving to Owensboro from Northern Kentucky. Northern Kentucky had a few inches of snow, but no big deal. Central Kentucky had barely an inch. Western Kentucky, including Owensboro, had nearly 2-feet of snow.
As we got closer and closer to Owensboro, the road conditions worsened. The storm had moved through the day before and we thought roads would be clear. We thought wrong. Thirty miles after passing Elizabethtown (the last decent-sized city until Owensboro) the interstate went from wet to having a foot of snow on the road. We passed car after car stranded on the side of the road as the interstate got progressively worse. The radio, tuned to the trucker overnight show, talked about treacherous travel just to our north.
Then it happened, just after midnight, Christmas Eve morning - the back end of our car started to fishtail. With Sara asleep beside me, I made the decision to intentionally spin out the car so we'd head towards the shoulder instead of the median and possibly the other side of the interstate. We did a 360 degree spin across two lanes of traffic (trust me, very few people were on the road, so there were no cars around us), slid to the shoulder and stopped just short of plowing into the guardrail. Everyone was OK. The car was not damaged. That was miracle number one.
Miracle number two came when someone tried to pull us out with a tow-chain and broke off our tow ring and part of the bumper and neither hit me. Miracle three was next.
We were literally stranded in the middle of no-where. We were 6 miles from the nearest town, and 40 miles from Owensboro. It was sub-zero temperatures. It was treacherous to drive, let alone walk.
One of Sara's family members agreed to come rescue us and drove 80 miles round-trip, through hazardous conditions, and at nearly 1 a.m. to come and get us. We did not reach Owensboro until 4 a.m. local time. If he had not gotten us, I'm not sure what we would have done.
Why do I share this story of my idiocy and misfortune? Because God showed his power. We weren't hurt. The car was undamaged. Someone came and got us and brought us to safety. We lived to tell about it, and even laugh about it now. Those are small miracles compared to some of the mighty things God has done in human history. But for us, those were big deals.
God shows his power all the time. In big ways and in small ways. At Christmas, it was through a virgin birth, a brightened star, by speaking in dreams and sparing the life of the Christ child. God showed his power. He still does.
God is all powerful. We celebrate that at Christmas. We celebrate that God can do all things and chose to bring salvation through a tiny baby, a young couple and an extraordinary set of circumstances.
Thank you, Lord, for showing your power at Christmas.
Comments
Post a Comment