In Bible times, miracles were nothing new. The entire story of creation was nothing short of a miracle from God. Moses led the children of Israel out of bondage by the strength of God’s miraculous deeds. Jesus showed His divine nature when he performed miracles during the time of His ministry on earth. Today, we see miracles too. They may not be as fantastic as those written in the scriptures, but they’re just as meaningful. We can find them every day if we just look for them.

My husband and I had just turned fifty.  His business had grown in size and was maintaining a certain level of success.  So much so, that our accountant advised us to sell our current house and buy a new one so we could deduct more interest on our taxes.  It was our dream home. We celebrated our 25th anniversary, planned our oldest daughter’s wedding, watched with tears as she left the nest and were about to see our then 21-year-old son move into a sort of animal house filled with young men.  Our youngest would graduate from high school would leave home soon.

We were living in a house that we’d soon be rattling around in by ourselves.  We still held the mortgage on our old house, which didn’t sell for another year.  Making two house payments wasn’t a problem at the time, but then the bottom fell out. The business had to close its doors because of a failing economy.  Everyone was cutting back on advertising. We were forced into bankruptcy as the bank called in the business loan.  Our world suddenly caved.  We were left with an almost empty house that we couldn’t afford, which would eventually be foreclosed upon.  The house went up for sale and didn’t sell until the last minute when the realtor bought it for the balance due.

For many folks these circumstances could be devastating and to say we didn’t go through some depression would be an all-out lie.  My husband kept a journal, which read much like the Psalms of David, groaning for God’s intercession.  We had no income – only one car which was paid for – a closet full of nice clothes and Christmas was coming.  For us it seems like the most amazing miracles occur at this time of year.

Still, it was Christmas and the time of the most amazing miracles of all times – an undeserved miracle – a gift directly from God.  His Son, born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Ghost to atone for the sins of all the world.  We didn’t deserve God’s grace, yet because of a love we will never understand, He took our place to pay for our sins.

It was getting down to the wire.  We’d spent the past year doing odd jobs so we could survive. We also received help from friends and our church. A full-time position opened up for Paul, but it was too late. We still had to find a place to live. Out of the blue, a friend and former business associate offered us a house to buy on a land contract.  We would not have to qualify for a loan.  During that year of restructuring our lives, the Lord gave us opportunities to explore the things we truly loved doing.  I began teaching drama classes and Paul got back into sculpting wood, which would eventually lead to the start of another fruitful business.

Once again, God had our backs.  Not by anything we did to deserve it.  Simply because of his amazing love.  Through this ugly time, He’d remained steadfast, consistent and compassionate.  We grew closer to Him and each other as well.

“He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.”     Aeschylus