Arrested by the Signs and Wonders of God

MEET CHRISTY CHRISTOPHER

A Note from Carol: I love giving some of my friends a voice on my Joy for the Journey blog. This week, Christy shares her heart with us.

Early in our married years, there was a man at church selling the Bible on cassette tape. (I know, now I have dated myself!) The cost was twenty dollars. Then, twenty dollars might as well have been one thousand dollars. Have you ever just really desired something that was simply way out of your means? Well, you get the picture. 

We decided to start collecting our change. We saved for several months. Finally, the week came when we were going to be able to purchase the Bible on cassette. My husband, Nathan took the jar of change to the bank and exchanged it for a nice, crisp, twenty-dollar bill. 

Sunday came, and while getting ready for church, Nathan sensed the Lord was telling him to give our twenty dollars to a particular man we knew and tell him to take his wife out to dinner. After a bit of arguing with the Lord—after Nathan told the Lord, “I never get to take my wife out for dinner, so why should we give this money to someone else so he can take his wife out?”—he relented. 

Nathan finally conceded and did as he felt directed. 

At a break in the service Sunday morning, Nathan told the man who was selling the tapes that we wouldn’t be able to buy those tapes after all. Then he went over to the other man and did as the Lord had instructed him. Then with tears in his eyes, the man told Nathan, “Today is our wedding anniversary, and just this morning I asked the Lord to provide money so I could take my wife out to dinner.” 

Needless to say, Nathan instantly felt better about the loss of the tapes! 

As Paul Harvey used to say, “And now . . . the rest of the story.” 

Earlier that morning my mom had called and invited us over for Sunday dinner after church. So, we went a different way home from church that day because of heading to my parents. As we headed down Route 42, we noticed something lying in the middle of the road. We slowed down and stopped. Nathan opened his door and looked down in utter astonishment as he picked up a brand-new set of the Bible on cassette tape. 

It was even the same version we were going to purchase! 

There was one tape missing though, but hey, wow, that was okay. We snatched it up and began to head down the road again. Just seconds down the road, though, lo and behold, the missing tape was on the right side of the road on the other yellow line. We stopped once again and then went our way with a complete Bible on cassette in our hands. 

What great lengths God goes to in order to bless His children! What creativity flows from His throne to simply show forth His glory and acts of kindness upon the earth! 

Okay, one more story to boast of our God.

One weekend we traveled to the eastern side of Tennessee for our nephew’s wedding. It was a Saturday morning. Five of us decided to go on a mountain hike before the afternoon wedding. I was kicking myself over and over for leaving my camera at home. We were in the car on our way to our hiking destination when I declared, “I wish I would have at least stopped at Walmart on the way to pick up one of their disposable cameras.” 

We were an hour or more away from anywhere a store could be found. I love to take pictures of God’s creation, and I was simply beside myself looking at all the beauty with no camera to capture it! But eventually I resigned myself to the fact that I would just need to be content with simply enjoying my time without a camera. 

We got out of the car and commenced upon one of the Great Smoky Mountain trails. Me being the lollygagging person I was, I trailed behind the other four hikers. About three to four minutes down the path, I looked to the left and saw something lying in the dew-soaked grass. Could it be? There to my utter amazement was a brand new, dry, disposable, Walmart camera. 

In complete, perplexing wonderment, I yelled out to the others about my find. “How could each co-hiker walk past this sight?” I thought. “Why was I the only one to discover this confounding object?” I remember feeling instantly favored on the spot. My Father had seen my desire and sent an angel, or someone, to put that camera in plain view for me only! 

It was a jaw-dropping juncture-in-time for this Jesus-loving gal. Papa loved me. It was just another expression of His crazy, stringless love. It was a just-because minute in time from Him. 

I don’t experience these types of wonders every single day, but there are little wonders each day that I can still count as something wonderful and glorious. For example, the early morning sounds before it gets light, listening to the birds wake up with a song. Or how about a bright orange sky at the end of the day as the sun dips below the horizon. One of my favorite wonders is listening to my six-year-old granddaughter go on and on about the picture she just drew for me. You see, there are little things and there are big things to be in a continual state of awe about.

Life is about perspective and wearing the correct lenses as we respond to what is going on around us. We can all probably share a horrendous story of pain and/or trauma in our life but I believe one of the ways to “get through” those times is to remember the times when God kissed our cheek with one of His signs and wonders! 

Are you struggling today? Switch lenses for a second and enjoy the view of all the ways your heavenly Father has taken care of you.

It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me. How great are His signs and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom And His dominion is from generation to generation. Daniel 4:2-3 AMP