I remember, as most of you do, where I was the exact moment I heard about the terror attacks. I was driving on Hwy. 29 in Auburn, GA. I stopped my car and pulled over on the side of the road and began to pray. From there the day is a blur, probably because anything else that happened that day is insignificant compared to THAT MOMENT.
You are probably wandering about my title - "Be the Miracle". Glad you asked 😀. My mind is whirling about what happened on 9/11 and then on 9/12, which made me think about Miracles. You see on 9/12 miracle after miracle started happening in our nation. We saw first responders and service animals pulling people out of rubble. Americans prayed for miracles, and we came together as a nation. We as individuals pray for miracles every day. To be honest, I know I have been in the position of asking for a miracle or two or three. My question, is when we pray for miracles, what are we doing in the "waiting period" of that miracle? Are we always asking for a miracle, and then just waiting for the miracle to happen, or are we being a miracle to others?
I am about to get REAL, so please indulge me. It has taken a long time for me to be able to share and realize that by sharing and being vulnerable, I might actually be able to plant a seed or two by sharing my story. I LOVE Jesus Calling devotional and I listen to the Podcast typically in the morning on my way to work. Listening to all the stories, aka "Your Why", it occurred to me that my "Why" is a miracle in and of itself.
Everyone sees the "Mrs. Georgia" title and the beautiful picture that Matt and Meredith Boyd took, but behind the picture is a story. You see, in 2009, I went through a lot. I went through a divorce as a result of severe domestic violence. Verbal, emotional, spiritual, and yes, physical. All the above and then some. I had 2 ribs broken, threatened multiple times, and on the day the straw broke the camels back, he hit me with his car, while I was in my car trying to leave to pick my daughter up from school. He T-Boned me in the garage so I was blocked and couldn't leave. As I sat in my car and looked in the rearview mirror I could see him in his driver's seat laughing. And the divorce ensued from there.
As I started my life over from scratch I remember sitting in the teacher's lounge at my daughter's school. I sat at the end of a long rectangle table as the school greeter and an elderly woman custodian talked. I tried not to listen to their conversation and, don't judge, I sat there eating white powdered gem donuts and drank a Coca-Cola. As I sat there eating my donuts and drinking my coke the elderly custodian starts to leave. She whisks around and walks up to me and with a broom in one hand she tells me, "God loves you." I shook my head and acknowledged what she said. She got closer to me and this time she pointed her finger in my face and she said, "God loves you!" I told her I know He does, I am a Christian. This time her voice got stern and her finger just a pointing at me, she said, "Child, God told me to tell you that He loves you. He said that He sees what you are going through. He said it is time for you to be at peace. He has seen you try real hard, but everything is going to be okay and it is time for you to be at peace and He loves you." Well, this woman, whom I don't even know her name, never saw her until that day, just looked at me and said, "Do you understand what God is telling you?" All I can tell you is tears started running down my face, no stopping them. These are the kind of tears that run from the depths of my soul, through my heart, out my eyes and down my face. I understood completely, because NOBODY at that school, even people I went to church with, knew what I had gone through and what I was going through, especially this stranger. I cried and shook my head in acknowledgement. The elderly janitor started to walk off and as she headed to the door to leave, she turned around again and said, "Remember, God told me to tell you He loves you." Every time I see a coke and powdered donuts I am reminded of that very moment when God spoke through that elderly woman, the custodian, to let me know He loves me and everything was going to be OK.
In that moment I KNEW God saw me right where and I was and that He loved me and everything was going to be okay. I remember pulling my car over on the side of the road when things got so bad and sat there crying and naming all of God's blessings because I did not want to miss Him in all the chaos. I went from seven figures to starting my life over from scratch, with a child in hand. It was hard, but at the same time it was freeing. You see, during one of the most difficult times this custodian allowed herself to be a Miracle. Miracles surround us and sometimes we seek them out and sometimes we need to be the miracle.
I had always volunteered and given back in my community by serving as a board member and/or a volunteer for different organizations such as CASA, Poject ReNeWal, CAC, DFCS, just to name a few. I have over 20 years under my belt and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for these organizations. Prior to 2009, I was the giver, after 2009 I was the receiver, which was hard to swallow, and very humbling. God has blessed me so much and now I continue to look for opportunities to be a miracle. Yet, the times I think I am being the miracle and trying to do good for others, I end up being so blessed beyond measure and I receive a miracle.
In 2018, I went to Kenya to be a blessing to others, by taking them gifts and spending time with them at their school. Witnessing these children who live in mud huts, walk up to 14 km one way to go to school, no water, no internet, no electricity, no cell phones, only their will to learn and grow. These children are fed at their school and receive porridge and a piece of fruit in the morning for breakfast.
On a Saturday morning, at school, this sweet boy stood in line waiting to eat. He looked at me and waved. I waved back at him and without saying a word he quietly walked over to me. As I watched him walk to me I crouched down to greet him. He immediately nestled his head on my shoulder. I hugged him and I definitely did not want to let him go. All he wanted was to be held and loved on. So I hugged him, and I fell in love with him. You see, he touched me far deeper than I could have ever imagined. I went to Kenya so those children knew they were seen right where they are, that they are loved, and that they are important. I left so blessed. I have learned that when we need a miracle, we should focus on how we can be a miracle to others. Often times, our act of kindness turns out to be the miracle we were searching for. I know I can't quantify what I receive in return.
You don't have to go to Kenya to be a miracle. You can be a miracle to the girl next-door or to the girl that has suffered tragic loss, or to an animal that doesn't have a home. In the spirit of 9/12, and remembering how our nation collectively, and individually, became a miracle, let's look to be a miracle, and thereby receive the miracle in return. As my favorite Princess said, "Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you". A true gift is giving with no expectation of anything in return.
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