Milk and Honey

Miracle: an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.

Miracles aren’t something I think of on an everyday basis. When I was more of an idealistic believer or perhaps just childlike, I did seem to daily ponder on the miracles of God. I prayed for them. I pleaded for them. Not necessarily for me or my family, but for the people of the community we were working in. I wanted to see God show His glory and power through the restoring of the lives of these broken, hurting people.

Unfortunately, we never “saw” those things happen as we thought they would. There are many lives that were and still are trapped in the pit of despair, trying desperately to crawl their way out. But there are also those seeds that were planted years ago, still sprouting and growing with God.

Years have passed since this time in our young lives and experience seemed to be teaching me to live more in the day, to not expect God to answer these “big” prayers. Perhaps, my prayers were too much on my own time table and it was just a matter of waiting.

I realized how discontentment was masking as a “spiritual” aim by keeping my eyes fixed on the grander purpose for my life rather than the “small” miracles before me each day. This reminded me of a story in the Old Testament.

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and test you in order to know what was in your heart. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then fed you with manna which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Know then that in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing.” (Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 5, 7-9)

It was time to enjoy my relationship with God, to get to know Him for who He is rather than what He can do and bask in the simple beauties of everyday living.

I began to pray for contentment.

Somehow, through no effort of my own, God answered that prayer. I found myself just enjoying my husband and children. I couldn’t believe it as this was something I’ve struggled with my entire life. I tried to wake each day thankful and lie down each night thankful. Things. I was grateful to have a roof over my head, food on the table, and friends to share it with. I was surrounded with priceless friendships and our roots were finding depth in the cornfields of Indiana.

I finally embraced whatever it was God wanted for my life.

In January of this year, I had a looming feeling that 2012 was going to be one of sorrow. We experienced some major struggles and my hope was at an all-time low. In fact, I would venture to say that there was no hope. We realized more than ever just how much we needed our family. And as we had in the past, we thought about moving back to Tennessee.

We had given these desires to God and prayed for them from time to time over the years. They were resting comfortably in our back pockets when this pressing desire surfaced. We lived in Indiana for eight years and while I will always remember it as “the place we grew up,” we were ready to see what God had next. We knew this would take nothing short of a miracle but believed that in God’s timing, He would ultimately bring us back. Maybe that time was now.

Brian looked for jobs online but nothing seemed to be a good fit or that it would financially provide. His current job seemed to be phasing out more and more. We were in a position of hardship and things didn’t seem that they would ever look up. We knew that God had always provided in the past so we continued to pray.

One monotonous day, Brian saw a job posting from a former work acquaintance. Ironically, this was someone he had met years earlier. They had a lot in common as his wife just happened to be pregnant at the same time I was, had the same doctor, and delivered at the same hospital within a week of each other! We followed one another’s blogs and were connected through social media. They relocated to Knoxville a few years ago which is precisely where we wanted to be.

The job posted and with our ever pressing desire to relocate, Brian applied immediately. From that point on, we experienced a whirl wind of events.

Within a month or so, the company was ready to interview. Our family traveled down for the big day. It seemed like such a long shot. Not only would it be a wonderful opportunity for Brian, but we would have to tell our teenage son he would move the summer before his senior year; we would have to sell our home in a short amount of time and we would also have to quickly find a new one. This is no easy feat in today’s economy.

But nothing with God is impossible.

It was a few weeks before Brian received the phone call that would change the direction of our lives forever. To say we were more than ecstatic to hear that he did indeed get the job is an understatement. Not only did they want Brian for the job, but they wanted him the next week.

We took a deep breath then went into action mode. Within a week, we listed our house and found a beautiful home in Tennessee. It exceeded our expectations in every way and had every detail I had ever prayed for. The first day our house went on the market, we had an offer. Within ten days, it sold. This was nothing short of a miracle! We also sold our car during this time within four hours! Detail after detail continued to work out and everything fell into place.

During our marriage, we’ve had some “mountaintop” experiences and this is one we will surely never forget. But those experiences aren’t there to satisfy our human desires. Rather, they are there to teach us about God’s charcter.

This to me was a lesson in God’s providence. Just like the Israelites in the desert, He was — with His powerful hand — weaving moment by moment, event by event to bring us to this land of milk and honey. And just like this story in the Old Testament, all of those around us have seen that when you trust God, He is able to “do immeasurably more than you can ever ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).

And what else is a miracle for but to testify of His greatness? It’s not about us. It’s about Him. I only pray that God will find us grateful and thoughtful of these miracles in our lives, not for our glory but so that others may see just “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18).