Tale of Three Miracles
Friday, Oct 10th, to insure I didn’t oversleep my two alarms trilled at 5:45 a.m. in the pre-dawn darkness. I needed to take my son and his girlfriend, who had been in an accident last month (doing well, BTW), to the train to catch the 8:15 a.m. into Los Angeles.
On the way, we stopped at the 24-hour WalMart and picked up a last minute item. Deciding to pick up something for me, I hobbled into the store with him using the stability of the shopping cart and sliding my cane into the side, out of the way.
We took very little time at that 7:30 hour, in the nearly empty WalMart Superstore and by 8:00 a.m. with minutes to spare, I dropped them off in front of the ticket machine at the train. He returned quickly where I sat waiting to see them depart, a huge grin on his face. “All the ticket machines are broken and the conductor says to get on the train. The ride is free.”
Miracle one—on his limited budget a nearly $30 ticket is free.
I took off for my VA (Veteran’s Administration) appointment at 9:00 and made it there by 8:45. They had called to tell me my new ‘rollator’—a walker with a seat—was in and I could pick it up between 9-9:30 a.m. I reached for my cane and realized I had left it in the cart. My heart sank. It was one of those collapsible canes, but it had been my mother-in-law’s cane and I had used it since she died. Colorful with butterflies painted up and down the segments that snapped together, I cherished it for its sentimental value and its beauty. Irreplaceable for sentimental reasons, I called the WalMart customer service three times, without any answer. I called a fourth time to talk to a manager, who said she would look where I had left it. To no avail.
“Call back in a couple of hours” was the suggestion. My appointment took me till 1:45 and I called WalMart several times without success. I met up with my husband who was on errands for his boss and had come down the mountain later. He suggested stopping at Walmart in person, so after leaving my borrowed car with its owner, I went with him back to the parking area, where I had left the cane. A parking space, two spots up from where I left the cane, opened and we pulled in. As I unbuckled my seat belt, two fluorescent-vested attendants retrieving carts walked in front us. My husband jumped out to ask if they might have seen the cane.
“You mean this one?” The older attendant pulled my cane out. “I haven’t had time to turn it in, yet.”
Miracle two – answer to prayer to recover my mother-in-law’s cane despite it being seven hours later, and of course, they just happened to walk in front of us at that moment.
My husband drove us to his sister’s house, where he had left our dog in the fenced yard with her dog—they are diehard friends and love play dates. Our Razzle Dazzle was nowhere in sight and didn’t respond to either of our whistles. The large trash cans blocking the only section of fence that was only 3’ high were pushed aside leaving a gap for her escape. We called the pound, scoured the streets, and whistled until breathless. We sat in the yard, held hands and prayed.
“God, we’ve been studying the Israelites exodus from Egypt and all the miracles you gave them showing how you cared for them, and you already gave us two blessings today, please take bring our Raz back to us safely.”
My husband worked on his sister’s repairs he’d promised to do, while I made calls, whistled and prayed continuously, trying to be unwavering in my assurance of God’s grace. Like the Children of Israel who had doubted too often and suffered for it, I gave into my fear periodically that Raz was lost but then renewed my faith that God watches over our lives even with the small things. Suddenly my sister-in-law’s dog dashed from my petting her. I turned and Razzle was leaping for joy at seeing me on the other side of the fence. I opened the gate for a spectacular reunion. Hugs and licks with prayers of thanksgiving and I called my husband’s cell to tell him the good news.
Miracle three – on the corner of a main street, my dog had survived cars and ‘whatever else’ in a strange neighborhood, and returned safely several hours later. How could I have doubted? God’s grace had been so wonderful throughout the day of downs and ups.
As the dusk hovered, we arrived home. I was exhausted and sat in my zero gravity chair, pulled my laptop on my lap and began to work on the Bible study for Friday and promptly fell asleep. I just woke up and decided to write and post this. I’ll catch up on the rest tomorrow.
Blessings of our Great and Mighty God to you,
ChapLynne