I have another one from when one of my children was being born.:
When I went into labor with my 4th baby, he was presenting as a footling
breach--in other words coming out feet first lol; and I began
hemorrhaging badly. I knew I was dying because I heard the doctor ask
my husband who he should try to save if he could-me or the baby. I was
still in the labor room at that time and just as the doctor asked my
husband that, I heard another doctor telling him to get out of the way
that he was taking over my case. My doctor was on vacation so I had
gotten the doctor on call when I went into hard labor.
He wheeled me into a surgical suite and had the nurses running to set
everything up that he needed. Christopher was born about an hour later.
Obviously I didn't die and neither did my son Christopher., but it was
a close call.
Now to explain what God had to do with this. My doc had gone on
vacation so he wasn't there for me. The doctor that took over was a
specialist for exactly the kind of delivery I was having. He was in our
state and at that hospital just for that week to teach the other
doctors how to handle the kind of case I was presenting. Not only that,
but the only reason he happened to come into the labor and delivery
area that night was to say goodbye as he was on his way to the airport
to leave for home! When he came in, he heard all the commotion and
heard what the young doc was asking my husband and immediately took over
realizing this was his exact specialty!
When my doc got back from vacation the next day he brought me flowers
and told me that I was very very lucky that he hadn't been there the
night before. I thought that was pretty odd so I asked him what he
meant. He then told me about the doctor who had helped me saying he was
the very best in the world at handling cases like mine. He said he'd
just finished being briefed by that doctor about me and knew if he
hadn't been on vacation there was no doubt in his mind that I would have
died. 
Talk about divine intervention! Thank you Lord!
This one is about my daughter
Jennifer when she was born.
She was born 3 months early and was barely 2 pounds and quickly lost
down to a little over one pound. She was born around 2pm and the docs
didn't expect her to live more then an hour or two at the most. I KNEW
she would. My mother who had died 6 years earlier had had a dream of
her before she died. My mom told me that the Lord had shown her her
grandchildren because she wouldn't live to see them. (I was pregnant
with my second child then- Michael and she died a week after he was
born.) She told me she saw 3 children, a toddler and a tiny baby girl.
Then she saw the same five children together again only much older. She
said that people would think the baby wasn't going to live but that I
mustn't worry because she would live and be just fine.
At the time of her birth though I didn't remember my mom telling me
that. But I still knew she would live. I had to literally fight and
threaten the doctors just to get them to let me see her. They finally
did and she was so tiny...just a miracle to see her even! Later that
night, about midnight, they woke me up saying she was going to die so I
went to see her. They said she needed a blood transfusion by she wasn't
my blood type and my husband was long gone-he'd abandoned us for
another woman. They were just going to let her die because they said
that she wouldn't live long enough for them to order the blood and get
it up to the NICU in time even if they had the blood in stock. They
also said that even if they got a perfect match, that unless the donor
was her father it was unlikely that it would work because her little
body would reject it.
I threw a very loud fit so they went ahead and ordered it. I kissed my
baby good night and went back to bed. The next morning her nurse told
me about a miracle that had occurred while I slept. They had ordered
the blood but the hospital didn't have that type and neither did the
other area hospitals. Just as they were about to give up a man walked
into the lab off the street. (Remember, by now it was about 1am in the
morning!) And no the man wasn't drunk! When they asked how they could
help him, he said he didn't need help but had come to donate the blood
they needed for the baby. He was the right blood type!!! He gave the
nurse his name and all that info and gave the blood. After they'd
processed the blood and sent it up, they then attempted to find out how
the man had known they needed the blood. They had assumed he came from
one of the other area hospitals, so they called them all back. No, none
of them had ever heard of him and didn't recognize his description and
the address he gave didn't exist LOL. So they had no idea who he was,
how he knew, or where he came from!
They gave Jenn the transfusion and her body didn't reject it at all!
They were totally amazed! When her nurse told me all of that, I cried
and smiled at the same time and told her that I was sure I knew where
the man came from and how he knew. He was an angel sent by God to save
my daughter's life! Here's a picture of my baby today, with her family!
The world usually calls it "luck" or "serendipity",
but we know better.I thought it would be fun and enlightening to share
stories of how He's done that at different times for each of us.
So I'll share one of the earliest memories I have of this happening:
I remember my first time really seeing it. It was when my mom was dying
and she still lived on her own at home. I really wanted her to come
live with me but she was stubborn. So while I fretted about how in the
world I was going to take care of her, because she really couldn't be
left alone at all and needed someone with her 24/7, God went ahead and
arranged it LOL. First a couple of old friends of hers who lived
several hours away came to visit and stayed with her a week. The day
they left, I picked up my dad and took him to her house to stay with
her. He arrived at her house on hour after the friends had left! He
stayed for two weeks and when he left, another friend of hers came up
for a week to stay with her and they also arrived within an hour of when
my dad left! Finally an Uncle and Aunt came and stayed for the last
week and by then we'd all convinced her to come and stay with me so when
they left we brought her and her hospital bed to my house. She died
within that week. But I never would have thought of calling those
people and neither had my mom. They all called her and none of them had
any particular dates in mind either, they simply showed up when they
could but God arranged it so she was never alone! Since then I've seen
Him do things like that over and over. He's so very good to us!
I can look back now and see many times the Lord has arranged things just perfectly for me, and how He's been ready for me at other times, "just in case". Like with my husband. . It's
amazing to me how a man from NH who pretty much has always lived right
here, managed to travel to each of the states I lived in as a young adult. We could very well have met in any of them, but we didn't. I
think the reason we didn't was because neither of us was ready yet. We
were both stubbornly following our own ways instead of His. But, He
was ready for us, "just in case" lol Then he moved me all the way
across the US to NH where I would meet him when we were both finally
ready to be vessels for Him as well as for each other.
So how have you experienced God's arranging things just right for you?
I remember when Bruce and I got married, I
think he always thought it was amusing when I'd mention that the Lord
told me to do something or get something or whatever. I didn't say it
very often, just once in awhile, but I think that he thought it was all
in my head at first LOL. But the longer we were together and the more
he saw the Lord answer my prayers and saw that every single time I said
that the Lord said something, it was always 100% correct. What really
changed his opinion was one day on the way home from work, the Lord
impressed me strongly that I needed to pray hard for Bruce's protection
from Satan and evil. Now that NEVER happens! I do not believe that
Satan is waiting behind every bush to attack us. But it was so very
strong, and it was His voice, so I stopped (I was walking) and prayed
and kept praying till I felt it lift. I didn't really entirely stop
praying even then. I just kept at it whenever I had a second. I had a
class to go to that night and Bruce dropped me off and went to get some
coffee at a 7-11 store. He'd noticed me praying and I'd told him what
the Lord had said and told him to be careful. I wasn't at all worried
though as I felt it was in the Lord's hands and I'd done as I was told.
Well he started to pull in the store and in his words, "something
stopped him". He couldn't see anything as that part was in shadows, but
there was a man with a stroller standing nearby with another guy,
talking. He was just about to continue forward, when all of a sudden
the man screamed out something and he saw a flash of movement in front
of his truck toward the pavement. It was the little one...maybe 2 years
old.... the father hadn't been paying attention and the baby had
climbed out of the stroller and was in the parking lot! Bruce would
have hit her if the Lord or His angels hadn't stopped him! Needless to
say, Bruce broke out in a cold sweat remembering my words to him. He
got to the baby before the father did and handed her safely to him,
thanking the Lord! He never doubted me again! And a few years later, I
enjoyed watching as he learned to discern the Lord's voice for
himself. Now that was really cool!
I had a group of folks meeting at my house on
Saturdays for a bible study I was leading -this was back in the late
90's. The Lord had used me a few months earlier to bring a man to
salvation that was basically a criminal. Well, after he got saved,
although he hadn't done anything wrong since, he got caught for what
he'd done before and sent to prison for a year. I didn't want him to
lose what he'd learned and wanted him to stay in the word, but the
stupid prison had all kinds of rules about sending stuff, even bibles,
to prisoners. Plus, as usual, I was dead broke. This was before I knew
Bruce even and was trying to raise my kids on minimum wage. Everyone
at the bible study was in the same shape I was, we all worked at the
same place after all LOL. So I did the only thing I could do, I asked
the Lord to provide either the money to buy the bible I wanted to send
him, or the bible itself. That was on a Friday night when I went to
bed.
The next day as the group slowly gathered, each one handed me money
shortly after they came in the door. Now, I had not told anyone about
what I wanted to do, nor had I, or would I ever ask anyone for money,
for that or for the bible study -we'd always agreed on that! So I was
very dumbfounded when each person took me aside privately to hand me
money. Each and every one of them told me the same thing, not knowing
that everyone else in the room had done and said the exact same thing!
They all told me that though they didn't understand it, and it hadn't
ever happened to them before, they felt very, very strongly from the
time they woke up that they had to give me X amount of money!
I had also scrapped up a few dollars of course, but only a few. So
when the last person had done this, I just couldn't contain myself. I
didn't know for "sure", but I had a strong hunch that I now had enough
money to buy and mail that bible to the guy, so I told them all what had
just happened and what I had prayed the night before. We sat together
and counted out all the money and I called our christian book store. I
think every single one of us was holding our breath waiting while the
lady went to check on the price of the bible I wanted. When she came
back, we had more then enough! But why did we have "extra"??? I knew
God didn't give "extra" for no reason....was I doing something wrong?
Then they started laughing and said, "Cindy, you still have to mail it!"
Sure enough, we went and got the bible, wrapped it up and took it to
the post office and the money it cost was exactly what we had, right down to the very penny!
So he got his bible and was able to use the year in prison feeding on
God's Word and growing in his faith! He did well too and would write
and ask me all kinds of questions about what he was reading. So I'd
write long letters back explaining it all, so I know that the Lord
really worked on His heart and he continued to grow. I've lost touch
with him since, as he lives in another state, but hear once in awhile,
usually Christmas and know he still loves the Lord and is close to Him.
I'd forgotten all about that! How cool!
There are some miracles that are actually
harder to see then others. Those are the miracles that come from
tragedies, or in other "surprise packages". I'm hoping that some folks
will share some of those kind of miracles with us too.
I'll share one of mine like that, although just about everyone here
already knows it. I was in a car accident which hurt my back, and then a
little over a month later, a patient I was caring for had a temper
tantrum and through me to the floor backward. (I'd been bending over,
slightly twisted, to try and help him, when he did that) It
totally did in my back. I was finished and that's what the doctors
told me. I'd never work again. I cried because I loved my work! I felt like the Lord had let me down...after all, didn't I pray for His protection every day when I woke up? Where was it???? My life was ruined...it was over! (or so I thought in my little temper tantrum)
Looking back, I'm so ashamed of myself, but you know, the Lord didn't
once get angry with me? Instead, He comforted me, told me it was OK to
cry and to get it all out, because Yes, "my life" was all over. 
I was like, "huh???" He explained then that my life wasn't going to be mine anymore, but instead would be entirely His. Well,
I knew enough even then to know that's how it already should have been,
and I'd really thought I'd been doing His will before... He assured me
though that I had been, but that some areas I hadn't given over, now
were going to become His.
I had to have surgery and was in a brace
afterward and not allowed to even sit up except to go to the bathroom
(with help) and just short times to eat. So all I could do all day was
lay on my back on the couch. My husband programmed our CD player with 60
praise and worship CD's for me and gave me the remote. Next to me on
the coffee table was my beloved Bible and Strongs Concordance, but for
about a month or two I wasn't allowed to lift the concordance as it was
too heavy. I might be down and
out, but I knew that even like this there was plenty I could still do. I
could worship the Lord, pray, and study His Word. So that's what I did
every day from 6am when my husband left for work and the kids left for
school, until just after 3 when they began coming home. That lasted for a
couple of months until I was able to sit up as long as I wanted to. (I
was in the brace for a year). Once I was able to sit up, I got to my
computer where I had a bible library with many commentaries to aid my
study as well, and continued in my routine. I grew very close to the
Lord during that time and grew a lot in my faith. I came to know that
He hadn't let me down at all, but instead had given me a miracle.
It was a hidden miracle, because no one would think to ask for it or to
look for it the way it came about. And yet, I can't think of any other
way He could have made it happen. If I hadn't been totally
incapacitated, or if I'd been able to go back to work I'd have been up
and "doing things". Even if it was just "cleaning the house"! Instead,
I was forced to spend all my time in His Word and in His presence. You
simply can't help but grow when you're there!
There were yet more trials, for with my recuperation from surgery, came
pain, pain that wouldn't go away and that would prevent me from ever
going back to work. And praise God, pain that would keep me relying on
Him for the strength to get through each day! Another miracle came from
that, for I learned the truth of what Paul meant when He said he would
delight in his weakness
for when he was weak, then God was his strength! That is a lesson that
has been fine tuned over the last 12 years. To this very day I thank
the Lord for the accident and the pain, not because I like it - I hate
it! - but because I know that the Lord used those things to work for my
good and bring me to the place He wanted me to be spiritually, which is
far more important then anything else in this world. I'm sadly, a very
stubborn person and the Lord had to break me before He could use me.
When I did fully submit to Him though, He then gave me this board and
ministry which He then grew me up into, for I wasn't anywhere near ready
to deal with it when He first gave it to me lol But He knew I had a
lot to learn and in order to learn it, I needed to be around others, and
so this is where He brought me, and taught me and where He commanded me
to grow where I'd been planted.
And so, for the miracle of my spiritual growth in Him, with His help, I praise Him!
Since we're talking about angels, I'll tell a
few of my angel encounters and try to keep them short lol Some of you
have probably read the full accounts of these so forgive me for the
editing I've had to do to shorten them.
I was in bed and feeling very
depressed. I was only 18 but loved the Lord with all my heart. I felt
that I had to obey my parents and also felt they wanted me to do
something that was a sin. I prayed and cried and couldn't sleep. The
next thing I knew there was this huge incredible angel sitting on my bed
next to me. So close I could have touched him. I didn't though. I was
awestruck and the most incredible peace descended on me...truly the
peace that passes understanding and I went to sleep smiling. It was
weird though, cause although a part of me was awestruck at seeing this
angel, I "knew" that he wasn't important, that only the One who sent
him was. It was an "inner knowing' that went without words...I really
can't describe it. He left no doubt that he was there not for himself,
but for the One who sent him!
It was winter and I had to go pick my daughter up
from work that night. The roads were very bad and I had to go up and
down several hills. I kept sliding over to the wrong side of the road
and I was terrified! I wound up doing a 360 in the middle of the road
and also threw my hands up in the air and cried out to God to save me. I
too felt someone take hold of the wheel and watched it turn...my hands
weren't touching it! The angel got my car over to the right side of
the road, down the hill and pointing the right way, and then gently
brought the car to a complete stop! I was bugged eyed by this time and
just praising God!!!! I then continued safely to go get my daughter. I
found out too that my car was the last one down the hill before the
police closed the road!
I worked in health care
for many years before I was disabled. One of my patients was elderly
and very senile. No one could get her to take her meds. So before I
went into see her the first time, I prayed and asked the Lord to help
me get her to take them. Then I went into her room. The was rocking
away and just smiling sweetly. I introduced myself and she told me that
she knew I was there to try and make her take those meds. I told her
that I would really appreciate it if she would and she pointed to a
corner of her room (which was empty) and said "do you see them". "Who?"
I asked. "The three angels there! she replied! They came and told me
that I have to do what you say cause you care about me." I thanked God
for helping me as she quietly and serenely took her meds. Never did
have a problem with her!
When my 5th child, Jennifer, was born, she
was 3 months premature, weighed just about 2 pounds and they first told
me she wouldn't live. She did of course lol and that's another story
all by itself!
She needed a blood transfusion right away due
to being filled with infection. Plus, they said that most likely the
only blood that would work would be her dad's because of how small she
was, that she would most likely reject anyone else's. (the other kids
and I didn't have her blood type) Well I had no idea where her "dad"
was. My husband had abandoned us months ago and about the only thing I
knew was that he wasn't in the state.
Then they told me that they weren't going to
give her one because they said it would take so long to get the blood
and prepare it etc, that by the time they got it to the NICU (newborn
intensive care unit) she'd be dead anyway. The chances of her body not
rejecting donor blood were minute too, they told me. So all things
considered, they just didn't think it was worth the effort.
I had a fit and insisted that they get on the
stick and order one immediately!!! When they finally did, it turned
out that they didn't have her type of blood! It was right around
midnight of the day she was born by now.
About 5 minutes after that, the charge nurse
in the NICU got a call from the lab. A man that no one knew, walked in
off the street and went to the lab. He told them he wanted to donate
blood and he just happened to have the same type blood as Jennifer! (can
anyone say "angel"?) So they got it from him, processed it or whatever
they do with it and brought it upstairs and did the transfusion.
Her little body, not only didn't reject the
blood, but she "lived" and she thrived! And all because some stranger
walked into a hospital after midnight to donate blood...that just
happened to be her type.
Now if that wasn't an Angel, then I don't know what an Angel is!There
are pictures of her and her husband and her children in my photo
albums in my profile. I'm pretty sure there's some of her from when
she was born too.
Sorry, I couldn't shorten that one any more...That's enough for now anyway
You know, we're all used to hearing of angels
coming to "take us home", and they obviously do, but we tend to forget
something else that's very important. Our Lord told us that He would
never leave us, and He means exactly what He says. He doesn't leave us
when we're dying and then show up again after we're dead. He's right
there with us all the time, never leaving our side. But He's kind enough to sometimes allow us to see His angels first, before we pass over, to prepare us for actually seeing Him. Many of the people I've been with when they died saw angels first, but some of them saw the Lord first too.
OK, Here's one of my weirder miracles LOL
Once, a long time ago I was very upset
because I hadn't known about something important so I could pray about
it, and by the time I found out about it, it was all over. I was talking
to the Lord as I was so upset and He showed me something that just
totally floored me, and made me realize that I don't have to worry when
that happens. Since He isn't bound by time it doesn't matter if we
don't pray "in time" for something because He can take our prayers
regardless of "when" we pray them and apply them to the appropriate
time and place. Isn't that cool????? I was so excited when He showed me
that! Now, I don't think He'd do that if we used that knowledge to
purposely put off praying for something that we did know about, but
when we just space things out honestly, or for some other reason just
honestly aren't aware of it, then I'm positive He will do that. He's
such an awesome God!!!
I was just blown away by it when the Lord showed it to me and later
He confirmed it in a way it couldn't be denied. I don't usually tell
people about it though cause it really is literally unbelievable LOL I
was on my way to work one morning and I was late by at least 5 minutes
and that's assuming I would speed. Normally it would take a good 10 more
minutes to get to work from where I was at the moment I prayed. It was
7:07am and I asked the Lord to somehow get me to work on time as it
was really important for that day. I didn't speed though as that's
against the law and so a sin too. When I pulled into the driveway it
was 7am. No... I didn't look at the clock wrong lol it was digital. Now
you know why I don't tell people about that one LOL
I don't mind sharing most of the
miracles the Lord has done, but some, like that one, were so obviously
miraculous that they're pretty hard to believe...even for me lol and I
was there!
There's one miracle that the Lord gave me,
that He used to show me how a miracle He does for one person can affect
many other people as well. It was one of those miracles that others
often see as being supposedly coincidences. It was something I'd prayed
for though, knowing the Lord would answer, so I knew it wasn't
coincidence. But, since it wasn't "supernatural" it didn't seem to me
at the time like something others would affect other people at all.
Going back in time to just after I was saved, our house was being
foreclosed. I'd looked and looked and hadn't been able to find anything
that I could afford to live in, so of course I asked the Lord to
provide a home for me and my children that I could afford by March 1st,
the date we were supposed to move out on. On Feb 27th I still hadn't
found anything, but we were all packed up and ready to go and had been
for several days already.
My friends were literally freaking out asking me what in the world was I
going to do if I didn't find something, especially since I had 5
children. They were really frightened for me, offering to let us stay
with them until I could find something. I just kept telling them that
it was going to be OK, that the Lord would provide in time.
The afternoon of the next day, Feb 28th, and the very last day I had
before eviction, I found out about an apartment that had just been
vacated. It was perfect in that it was the cheapest place in the
entire town (or neighboring towns!) and the ONLY place I could have
afforded, although it wasn't well known. I went to the owner and told
him I wanted it. He said I had to give him the rent and deposit before I
could sign the lease and he had someone else who wanted it scheduled
to be there in 15 minutes to see it! I ran to the bank (only 2 mins
away), got the money and brought it back to him. I was signing the
lease when the other couple came to the door! He said it (obviously)
wasn't ready to move into since the previous occupants had just moved
out, but I told him that I didn't care about that and would clean it
myself. He agreed and I spent that afternoon after work cleaning it.
The next morning was our deadline day, March 1st and that's when we
moved into the apartment!
My friends were just totally awestruck and shocked. They kept saying, "you
told us God would do it, but I didn't believe you and thought you were
just trying to be positive, but He really did and you never doubted it
for a minute!" I discovered later that it
was this miracle that brought my friends back to Christ and they
rededicated their lives to Him because of what He'd done for me.
I know they tell people about this miracle all the time too, so
there's no telling who else has been affected by it that I'm unaware of.
An update to that is that we lived in that apartment for 8 years and I longed for my own house again. The eighth
year we were there, I asked the Lord (again) for a nicer home of our
own. We found a mobile home we fell in love with at the end of October
and moved into in December of that same year. What really blew my mind
though was what I found out about just before we moved in here. I'd
known our landlord was trying to sell the place, and discovered that he
had sold it and that the new owners were going to be more then tripling
the rent in January!
There was no way we could have afforded that and the Lord knew that.
The monthly cost on house we bought came out to be about the same amount
a month that we'd been paying for the apartment before! In the past
year I've checked our town and all the surrounding towns to see if there
was anyplace we could live that was even cheaper then where we are now,
and there's nothing less then what we have. The only place that came
close is the apartments that my daughter Jennifer lives in now and that
was almost tied with us. God is just so amazing! He got us out of that
apartment at just the perfect time, even though we didn't know we were
in any danger. If we hadn't moved when we did though, there's no way we
could have paid the rent the new landlord demanded and we wouldn't have
had anyplace to go. God most certainly is in control!
The Lord has granted me so many outright
miracles in my life that it just amazes me. Then of course there's His
"regular" miracles that we see all the time, such as the miracle of a
new infant when they're born, or the miracles in nature, etc. But the
miracles I'm talking about here are the kind that can't be explained by
any natural means; the kind where God has stepped in and intervened in
your life or someone elses life in an obviously supernatural way. To
me, it seems like the better I know Him the more often He does that. I
thought it would be really encouraging for us if we shared some of those
miracles with each other here. I know we're all going through hard
times, and it helps strengthen us to carry on, when we remember what God
has done for us in the past.
There is one miracle I don't think I've told
before that happened to me when I was just a baby a few months old. Of
course I don't remember it, but my mother told me about it several
times. That in itself is a miracle since she spent her life angry at
God and denying His existence for the most part. She told me that I had
gotten sick and the doctor had done xrays and found a mass or tumor in
my abdomen. Surgery was scheduled for the next day to remove it. I
don't recall what she said the mass was...I think they didn't know for
sure yet. I can only imagine now how she must have felt...her only
child, just a few months old, with what she said was a very large mass
in my abdomen and having to have surgery. This was back in 1956 so
surgery was still considered very dangerous. I'm sure she was just
terrified and in fact, she told me she was. Scared enough that she
broke down and got on her knees and prayed to the God she hated for me.
She said she laid her hand on my tummy and prayed all night for me
kneeling next to me as I slept. The next day they did another xray
before surgery at my mother's insistence and much to her total amazement
and the doctors too, the mass was completely gone. She said that if
the doctors didn't have the xray from the day before right there next to
it, they wouldn't have believed it had ever been there! According to my mother, I also no longer had any of the symptoms I'd had from it before. So
of course I was pronounced healthy and sent home with my mother. Why
that didn't convince her of God's love for her, I don't know. But it was
certainly a miracle as far as the doctors and my parents were
concerned, and back then doctors weren't afraid to admit when they saw a
miracle happen.
I deleted the part about my mother that
she also used to tell me that she was sure that the reason she was born
and her whole purpose in life was simply to have me and raise me.
I could never really figure out why my mom
hated God so much. A lot of times when she talked about it at all,
which wasn't often, it seemed like her anger was mainly at the RCC and
not really God at all. Then after the RCC, her anger seemed to be
directed at the bible. I know she felt no one could really understand
it. When she gave in and bought me my first bible when I was 11, it was
a "children's bible." I devoured every page in it, since it was all I
had, but really wanted a real bible and continued asking for one. She
finally became exasperated with me and told me that she'd buy one for me
when I could understand the children's one. I told her I already did
and of course she didn't believe me. She flipped through it and picked
out stories and asked me to explain them to her then and I did. To me,
the meaning of the stories and what happened in them were just as
obvious as any Dr Seuss book 
When
she first started asking me questions, she was kind of antagonistic,
but when she saw that I really did understand what I was reading, she
became more curious then antagonistic. After that though, she only
asked me about a few more. I got my real bible shortly after that
though and began devouring it the same way.
A few months later she asked me if I really
understood what was in the Bible, and again I told her that I really
did, because I really thought I did. She asked me to explain several
things to her and I did, but her last question, I felt I understood it,
but I had a very hard time explaining it to her and I felt like I had
failed. She asked me to explain what or who the Holy Ghost was. She never indicated that I hadn't explained it well enough or anything like that, but I felt that I hadn't.
Growing up, she encouraged me to sin in many
ways because she disagreed that those things were sins. I never
preached at her though, never condemned her or anything like that. I
felt it was my job to simply answer questions when she asked them and
try to live the way God said to. But I'd get into trouble when she'd
tell me to do something that God said not to and had a lot of problems
trying to work out for myself what I was supposed to do in cases like
that since God said we're supposed to honor and obey our parents.
By the time I was 16, I knew my bible like the back of my hand and had
memorized a great deal of it. But my understanding wasn't right about
sin. I didn't understand that Jesus had covered all my sins at that
time. Mainly because I was teaching myself and had no one to help me.
But, I've gotta give her credit for one
thing. She never tried to stop me from going to church, although she
told me I'd have to get my own ride as she wanted to sleep in on
Sundays. That wasn't hard to do though. And whenever I was being
honored in some way at church, she always came to watch, but those were
the only times she'd come. She
never tried to get me to stop reading my bible or Christian books or
anything like that. And she never put me down for any of it. Oh,
she'd try and get me interested in "other things" but she never
directly forbade me from going to church or studying my bible etc. The
only time she in any way did something like that was when I wanted to go
to Moody Bible college. She had told me she'd pay for my college
education since I was a straight A student, but when I told her where I
wanted to go, she said there was no way she'd ever spend a penny to send
me there. I knew she desperately
wanted me to go to college though, so I rebelled by simply saying,
"fine, then I won't go to any college at all" and I didn't. I
think she thought she'd get me to go after a year or so, and who knows,
maybe she'd have even given in and let me go to Moody; but I'll never
know because within a year she was quite sick with cancer and died
another year later.
I've always believed she went to Hell, but
several years ago now, the Lord told me not to be so certain, which
really surprised me. He told me that I didn't know what had happened in
my mothers heart or what she'd been thinking even the hours before she
died, and that time was no problem for Him, because He could spend what
for us was just a few minutes, and make it last for hours or months if
need be for Him and her. I thought at first it was just wishful
thinking on my part, but I'm sure now, it was the Lord who told me that.
It may be wishful thinking that just maybe she'll be waiting for me in
heaven, and I refuse to hold onto that wish very tightly. Instead I
hold it loosely, knowing that if there was any possible way for the Lord
to save her, that He would have done so, and she will be there; but
that if she isn't there, it's not His fault and I wouldn't blame Him for
a second if she's not. I felt
very guilty for a long time, thinking that she was in hell because I
hadn't done my job well enough. But the Lord let me know that simply
wasn't true. That He never sends just one person, and a child at that,
to tell someone about His Son, and that He really doesn't need anyone to
tell others the Truth because He's perfectly capable of telling them
Himself if need be. So, if she is in Hell, it's only because of her own
choosing and is no fault of mine.
But, I've gotta say, if she is in heaven, that would be one fantastic miracle and I would rejoice and praise Him forever for it!
On Eagles Wings
By Cynthia LaFreniere
January 2001
Back in October I had an incredible
experience which I would like to share with you. I've been trying to
figure out the best way to do that, and finally came to the conclusion
that the only way to do it was to tell it just like it happened. On the
morning of October 12th, I was driving to work.
As usual, I was praying and listening to praise and worship music. We
live out in the country, so most of the roads are quiet with little
traffic and woods on both sides. Getting closer to work, I felt prompted
to pray for myself, as I was due to have a procedure done on my back in
a few days. The procedure involved inserting two wires, and wrapping
them around two of my disks. Then the wires are heated up and left there
until they had melted my disks. Afterwords I would be in a brace for 6
months. I wasn't looking forward to it at all. The whole idea scared
me, and I'm not into pain! It was only after a lot of prayer that I had
decided to go ahead and have the procedure done. I really felt it was
what the Lord wanted me to do, so I was determined to obey. So I began
to pray, asking the Lord to divinely guide the doctor, the staff and
everyone who would be involved in the procedure, and to use it to bring
about a total healing of my back.
No sooner had I gotten those words out of my mouth, than I saw a
large bird lift up off the ground on the left side of the road. The bird
flew toward my car and landed with wings outstretched, on the hood in
front of the windshield.
It was a huge and magnificent eagle! I couldn't believe it! All I could say was "Oh Wow Lord!"
It was as if time stood still. What was in reality probably a second,
seemed to last for several minutes. The Eagle was so close, I could make
out the tiniest details of his feathers.
This seemed to last for several minutes, although I know it couldn't
have. The eagle was obviously blocking my view of the road but for some
reason that never occurred to me. Nor did it occur to me to be scared.
The instant the eagle landed on the hood a verse from the Bible exploded into my mind It was Isaiah 40: 31. "Those
who put their hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will
soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary; they will
walk and not be faint." Seeing
the eagle and the verse coming into my mind both happened
simultaneously. (Although I had heard this verse before, it was not one I
had committed to memory) All I could do was repeat, "Wow Lord!"
and cry as my heart swelled with love and thankfulness, that God would
care enough about me to send me such a mind-boggling sign. Then the
eagle lifted and flew off to the right.
I spent the rest of the ride to work praising the Lord! By the end of
the workday however, doubts were entering my mind. I couldn't possibly
have seen what I saw; but I did! It couldn't have really been an eagle,
it must have been some other kind of bird--one found in abundance in our area.
I decided to look up birds on the Internet when I got home. After
all, I'd had a very close up view of the bird so I'd definitely be able
to identify a picture of it! I figured the easiest way to do it, would
be to rule out eagles right off the bat, so I looked them up and found
some close up pictures of them. Much to my continued amazement, I
discovered that it really had been an eagle!
I of course I thanked the Lord all over again- and asked Him to
forgive me for my doubts! The following week I went in to have the
procedure done. When I was out from under the anesthesia, the doctor
told me that everything had gone very well. He said it was really
strange though because when he went to wrap the wires around my disks,
it was like someone was inside of me guiding the wires for him! He said
nothing like that had ever happened to him before! Since the procedure, I
have healed very quickly, not even needing the narcotic pain relievers
after the first two weeks! The doctor continues to be amazed at my
recovery, saying they have never had anyone do so well. God has indeed
renewed my strength, and my hope continues to be in Him. It is my prayer
that the Lord will use this testimony to bring you hope and
encouragement. May God Bless you always. Sincerely. Cindy
October 2001
Since writing this in January, I have had some major setbacks in my
recovery. The Lord has continued to assure me of His love and that He
will heal me. He just hasn't said when, and I realize it might not be
until I get to heaven. Whenever I begin to feel depressed or upset about
the continuing pain, I remember the eagle, and think now that perhaps
this is why the Lord sent me such an amazing sign. In His wisdom, He
knew I would need something like that to keep my faith and spirits up.
What a good God we have! He is such a good and loving Father! I also
confess that I have become much closer to Him throughout this
experience. I don't think that would have happened if I had been healed
immediately. I admit that I have been a stubborn and very active person,
so all good intentions aside, I truly don't think I would have taken
the time to study the Word, pray and worship any where near as much as I
have, if I had been able to go back to work and lead a normal life
right away. I have come to trust and believe my heavenly Father and know
that He will do what He has said, and that He knows what is best for
me. Therefore, I thank and praise Him for all He has taught me and shown
me during this time, and look forward expectantly every day for the
good gifts He gives me.
Now I too can relate and say Amen to these verses:
Daniel 3:17 "If
that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the
burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.
18. "But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.''
1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that
the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that
perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor,
and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ
My faith does not "require the
Lord to heal me. I will worship, praise and trust Him regardless of
that! He IS Good, all the time!!!!!
March 2002
After my initial quick
recovery, my back began to get worse. Even more disks became herniated
and began degenerating, causing me a great deal of pain. At first I kept
asking the Lord to keep His promise and heal me as He said He would.
Finally I heard His reply. He never said He would heal me
physically—just that He would be with me and turn all things for my
good. He had also given me the last part of this verse when I first hurt
my back: Daniel 12:13 "; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.'' So
I knew I was supposed to “rest” and not worry about working or money
etc. (Talk about a hard lesson to learn!) The Lord reminded me of all I
had learned since being injured; of the great deal of time I now spent
reading His word and in prayer; of all the deep emotional wounds He had
been healing in me during this time. I knew that none of this would have
happened if I was healthy and able to work. I would have been too busy.
I feel the Lord sent that eagle to be a reminder to me of His constant
love, so I would have something tangible to hold onto as time went on,
and I wasn’t “healed” from the physical problems.
December 2008:
I learned many years ago
that when the Lord said He would heal me that he wasn't just referring
to my physical body, although that is what I took it to mean at first.
Instead the Lord has healed my spirit and soul, my heart and my
emotions. He has built me up in Himself and given me more then I could
have ever asked for through a much closer relationship with Him. I
wouldn't trade that for a healed body, no matter how much money someone
offered me! The eagle He sent me however has always been something that I
could hold on to when I was in pain, to remember without a doubt that
the Lord is indeed with me, that He loves me, and that all things will be worked together by Him for my good. Thank You Lord!
May 2012
Isaiah 40: 31. "Those who put their hope in the Lord
will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they
will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint."
Before my hope was in
being healed, in what I wanted, not what He wanted and not just Him. He
wanted me to put my hope in Him...for all things, not just having the
pain stop. And because of that pain, I've learned to trust Him and that
the things we see in this life as "bad" aren't always really "bad" at
all. Instead, they can actually be good. Through the daily pain,
I've come to know and trust my Lord completely and I get closer to Him
every day. I have to rely on Him, because there is no human that can
help me and I certainly cannot help myself. Reading back over this, I've
seen even more clearly how much He's taught me over these years and how
far I've come from where I was. I can't begin to thank Him enough for
all the changes He's made in me and all the ways He's healed me both
emotionally and spiritually. No, there's been no physical healing--in
fact my physical problems continue to get worse; but because of them and
because I've learned to rely on Him, I can now comfort others who live
with pain. He's given me wonderful resources to help as I study
His Word with Him every day and I had to laugh when I looked up what the
commentaries said about the verse He'd given me:
There is a general principle here that patient, praying believers are blessed by God with strength in their trials (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:8–10 — Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That
is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in
hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I
am strong.). The MacArthur study Bible
The word “renew” means “to exchange,” as taking
off old clothes and putting on new. We exchange our weakness for His
power (2 Cor. 12:1–10). As we wait before Him, God enables us to soar
when there is a crisis, to run when the challenges are many, and to walk
faithfully in the day-by-day demands of life. It is much harder to walk
in the ordinary pressures of life than to fly like the eagle in a time
of crisis. Be comforted. An Old Testament study.
All I can say to that is, Amen and thank You Lord!
