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.....