Give Me Eyes To See

PART 2 OF MONDAY’S DEVOTION
     Though the joy of escaping the shelf catastrophe was fighting to overcome my every thought; the heart-ripping mourning over the damaged containers was giving a great fight for dominance in my mind. Usually, I can deal with the loss of material things, though I have never had to endure losing everything like those who have survived fires, floods, or earthquakes. But these containers held the life memories of two people who I love and who are very dear to me! After my father and mother divorced, he remarried and had two children. We had our children around the same time. My sister is the oldest at 26 years old, and then my son is next at 25. My brother is 24 years old and my daughter is the baby at 23. Six years ago this month. our father died in his sleep from a heart attack. However, they didn't just lose their father; they had lost their mother five years before. So, when my siblings were just 18 and 20 years old, we sold their memory filled home. The shelves, which collapsed, held the items kept from my sibling’s life with their loved, cherished, and missed parents. It was overwhelming for two young adults to decide what they wanted or needed to keep. Most of the time, we are much older when we make our final selections to the heirlooms we inherit from our parents.   
     So, much of what is in the containers are items that I (the older and wiser sister) chose, as I ignored their statements proclaiming they only wanted a few things! I knew their young, hurting hearts were speaking. I knew they would regret not having reminders of their childhood and memories of their loving parents. These items are more than material things; they are things that will give them a sense of comfort and heritage throughout their lives! And now, those containers were lying busted and spilled out over an eight foot area.The one consuming thought I had was ‘how am I going to find the strength and words to tell them their cherished possessions were gone.’ First, they lost their mother, then they lost father, then they endured high school graduations, college graduations, career achievements, and now they have chosen the ones they want to spend their lives with; all without their parents standing beside them giving them praise, wisdom, and guidance. This was another loss I didn’t want them to endure. I knew that all the china from their mother and their grandmother was going to be in pieces. I assumed all the crystal glasses, serving dishes, figurines, and collected dolls would be joining the heap of broken glass. It was more than I could handle without taking time to let God strengthen me. So, I did not touch anything until Saturday afternoon. When the time came when I could no longer procrastinate, I started the process of going through the pile of rubble, one item at a time. Containers were busted everywhere, which only added to the expectations of recovering nothing that wasn't broken. The first levels gave some excitement and hopefulness! Not one of those piles had anything broken in them. However, I knew the china was flung and buried on the bottom. As I made my way to the final reveal of the china, I witnessed the continual miracle of God's protection. Somehow, though the china had encountered an eight foot drop onto cement, had been flung out of its protective container, and had endured the impact of other heavy containers falling on top of them; they were for the most part, undamaged. One coffee cup, two dessert plates, and two stemmed glasses were all that were broken! Out of twenty tubs; 5 minor things were broken. Amazing is all I can say!!!

     God cared for my sister and brother by protecting the only things from their past lives with their parents. They didn't know what was going to happen, so there was no reason to ask God for help before the crash. His hands which protected their memories were not spurred into action by their specific prayers. I doubt if they have ever prayed, "Lord, please protect my stuff in Tonya's garage!" But he did anyway! He works in our life even when we do not know how to ask, or what to ask, or even when we need to ask. Sadly, many of the things that God does for us, we do not even recognize as His hand of love. Other times we take God's blessings and chalk them up to luck! Some may say we were 'lucky' that nothing was destroyed; you will never hear me say that! We were blessed, not by coincidence, but by the love of God!

     When was the last time you recognized a miracle in your life? Did you praise the Lord or give the credit to 'luck'? God is at work around us at all times. His work is not ordinary. It shouldn’t be that hard for us to see, if we look through our spiritual eyes and praise Him for the great and powerful things He does every day. All we need to do is ask for eyes to see!

Open my eyes so I can see what you show me of your miracle-wonders.

Psalm 119:18