Miracles

At this time of year, it seems we hear more about miracles than the rest of the year. Could it be that maybe we're just more aware of things that happen that are not able to be considered "coincidences?" I know I have been over the past two weeks ago.

On December 9, my dad had a farming accident. He got his right arm caught in a cotton stripper auger, which has a whole bunch of nasty, blade-like contraptions that spin really fast in order to remove the cotton from the stalk. As you can imagine, a human arm doesn't stand much chance when pitted against such a powerful machine.

Incredibly enough, dad didn't lose his arm, or even his fingers, for that matter. But, there was a whole lot of damage done. The farmhand who was working with him, Arturo, was able to shut the machine off almost immediately. This in itself is a miracle. But the story is just getting started. Now things get really unbelievable.

Dad doesn't have a farmhand. At least, not since my brother and I left home (and, let's be honest....we were more like slave labor!!!). Thursday, December 9 was the first day Arturo had worked for my dad. Again, this in itself is a pretty great miracle. But that's not all. Arturo's boss, Kent, is an EMT. He had noticed some things in dad over the previous week or so that concerned him, so he dropped by my parents' house on the night before dad's accident. He checked dad's vitals, then told him that he was finished pulling his cotton crop. He wanted dad to take Arturo and let him help finish pulling the cotton. Dad, of course, refused at first. Kent wouldn't take no for an answer, so Arturo went to work with my dad on that Thursday morning.

While they were trying to get dad's arm out of the auger, Arturo called Kent (who, if you recall, is an EMT). Dad and Arturo were in the middle of nowhere, where you cell service is spotty at best. But, Kent heard "Mr. Bill's hurt!" before the signal died. So, he called 911 and told the folks in Tahoka to send the Ambulance and to call the Flight For Life helicopter. All Kent knew was that dad was hurt...he didn't know how badly. He said they'd send the helicopter back if they didn't need it.

When dad finally freed his arm, Arturo drove him to an intersection. The ambulance arrived at the intersection about the same time they did. By the time they got him prepped for the helicopter, it was landing.

A farmhand my dad has never had, a good friend who's an EMT who had the wisdom to make the right phone calls, perfect timing all around. It seems to me that this many coincidences coincidentally coinciding at once is harder to buy than simply believing that there is an Almighty God who was looking out for my dad and had the right people in place at the right time.

Don't buy the lie of "coincidences." None of us could have imagined that dad would have this horrific accident. But I believe that God knew it was coming. I believe He could have stopped it. But, sometimes he allows us to go through awful things in order to remind us that He does know about us and care about us. Personally, I was at a point where my faith needed a boost. I wasn't having serious doubts, but I think I was getting "bored" in my faith.....needing to see something miraculous. God has used this situation to remind me that we are safe in his arms, even when unthinkable things happen.

Dad's still got a long way to go. He's facing multiple surgeries over the next year, and his right arm and hand will never be back to 100%. But we can live with that. And who knows: there might just be some more miracles in store.....

The Shepherds

I know, I know. It's been a very ridiculously long time since I've posted anything on here. So, first let me say that I'm sorry. I hope for this to be a place to write from time to time about stuff that I'm learning and things that God is revealing to me.

As we enter this Christmas season, I am reminded of the story of the shepherds. In Luke 2, we are told that the shepherds were watching their flocks by night, when suddenly an angel appeared to them. I love this image, because the shepherds were not expecting anything extraordinary to happen this particular night. They are going about their regular business and, suddenly, they are interrupted by heaven. Isn't that how it happens so often in our lives? We are immersed in our daily lives, not expecting anything extraordinary, when God shows up.

You've probably heard that the shepherds were outcasts from society. That's actually probably not true (this is based on my study of the passage.....I don't possess this knowledge on my own!). If you look at the rest of Scripture, shepherds are generally given a positive review. King David was a shepherd when he was a boy. Pastors are referenced as shepherds. Jesus called himself "The Good Shepherd."

Rather, a shepherd was probably just a common fellow. I live in a farming community. Cotton farmers are about as common here as shepherds would have been outside Bethlehem when Jesus was born. I think there's a great lesson for us in this: God cares about regular folks. We don't have to be rich or really, really, ridiculously good looking in order for God to reveal Himself to us. Scriptures are chock full of stories where God speaks to someone really quite ordinary and, through them, does something extraordinary. If you read the Christmas narrative, the shepherds are the first people to hear about the coming of the Messiah.

It's also striking to look at their response. They go and meet the child, and then we read that they go and tell everyone they see about what has happened. The story is called The Greek term that's translated Good News in our English translations is evangelion. Kinda looks like the word evangelism, doesn't it? To evangelize is "to share the good news." And did you see the response to the shepherd's story? Everyone was amazed.

I happen to think that if we will share the story of Jesus (NOT religion, but just the story of Jesus), people will still be amazed. Think about it: God took the initiative to restore the relationship that WE fractured. It's an amazing story. Who do you know that needs to hear?