Yesterday, my mother-in-law gave my husband several type-written pages for our family to read. These were stories of the little miracles their family had experienced over the years, in her words "leaps of faith" that had seemed huge at the time and had made enough of an impression on her that she wanted our children to know about them. I'm so glad that she did this, and I was amazed because these stories are so similar to my own while growing up. I believe that these stories set the stage for the leaps of faith that Joe and I have experienced together. There are far too many stories to share, so I think that for now, I will tell you a few of the stories from our younger years and then later I'll share stories from our marriage…these are incredible occurrences that I think may inspire readers to reflect on their own steps of faith, to begin expecting a miracle when one is needed, and to be on the giving end of a miracle when possible.

Joe's mom writes that when her four boys were growing up, the family was pretty strapped for money. At the end of the month, her boys' appetites were just as hearty as they were at the beginning of the month, but the money was always gone by the third week. They managed because she made a lot of big casseroles. They had a lot of potato soup and hamburger gravy over biscuits.
One afternoon toward the end of the month, she was preparing her last package of hamburger with her last can of cream of chicken soup to put in a casserole, and so she was not unduly worried about that night's dinner. During her preparations, she received a phone call…could she bring food to a friend who had twenty-some unexpected house-guests after a funeral?
The phone call encouraged her to bring food before the mob descended.
My mother-in-law thought of her hamburger and soup and just shrugged…there had to be something else for her family. She would just have to be creative. She extended the hamburger with everything she could find, fried it into patties, laid them out in a casserole, thinned the soup and poured it over all. It baked up looking good and smelling great and she took it to her friend.
When she returned home, the phone was ringing and she ran in to answer it. It was a call from a large church in Corning. It was the night of their annual church banquet of roast beef, potatoes and gravy, string beans, rolls, salad, and dessert…and their entertainment had fallen through. Would she please come to sing and play the piano, and of course,
bring her whole family to the banquet?

Four boys were hard to keep in jeans and tennis shoes. One winter, Joe didn't have a coat. His had simply worn out. Coats used as hand-me-downs could get pretty thrashed, and Joe was the third child. My mother-in-law was desperate and she figured that if a coat could be sewn, she could do it as well as the next guy. She made him a nice warm coat, quilted the lining with Dacron from an old pillow and put a zipper up the front so it wouldn't blow open. So of course, the first day he wore it, it rained. It was a soaked mess when he came home and she put it on a clothes rack in front of the fireplace where she dried all of their clothes. She looked at it and knew it would never dry during the night. What to do? The entire family held hands and asked God for a coat for Joe.
The next morning when they woke up, on their front porch was a box of clothing from a member of the church.
On top of the box was Joe's coat: a wonderful blue nylon coat, waterproof and with a nice quilted lining.
Every boy knew where that coat had come from…God had sent it.

*******

When I was growing up, my parents sent me and my sister to Community Christian School. When they first heard about the school, they immediately assumed that they would never be able to afford a private school education. My dad worked at Louisiana Pacific sawmill and was laid off every winter. My mom stayed at home with me as I was too young for school. Even so, one of the teachers, Miss Fisher, encouraged them to enroll my sister at Community Christian. She asked, "What do you have to lose? Put her in and if you can't afford it later, take her out." This teacher explained that she had seen God provide for others in pretty miraculous ways. Throughout our elementary years, my parents faced layoffs, job changes, and all other kinds of expenses, but the money for tuition was always there. Sometimes it showed up in ways that can't be explained except to say that God did it.
One year, our parents decided to sell their used car for $800, a price that would pay our tuition for a year. They parked the car at my grandmother's house as it was located on a busy street. One lady stopped to look at it and offered to pay $500 for it. My grandmother said that she was selling it for her kids and couldn't take a penny less than $800 because it was for her grandkids' year at Christian school. The lady left but later called my grandmother back and said, "I want to buy the car, but I'm not going to pay $800 for it." My grandmother was preparing to stand her ground on the price when the lady continued, "I'm going to pay $1,600 because I want to pay for two years of their school."
There are so many stories like this one, with money showing up from unexpected places…sometimes from people who chose to remain anonymous. One year, my mom went in to the school to pay her monthly bill and the secretary told her that it was already paid. "You must be thinking of my sister-in-law," she replied. "Are you sure you're looking at our account?" "Yes," the secretary told her, "yours is paid and your sister-in-law's is paid…and I can't tell you who paid it." They questioned family members in order to thank them, but no one ever fessed up. Years later, after my grandmother's death, we found this check in her things:
Going to the school meant that we couldn't afford fancy clothes. I remember one year when I was in 6th grade that I asked my mom, "When are we going shopping for an Easter dress?" Now that I am an adult with a mortgage payment, I can understand the stunned look on her face. She was worried about paying the bills and I was asking for a totally frivolous thing. She said, "April, we don't have money for a dress. If you want a dress, you're going to have to ask God to bring you one." I did, never doubting that
I would get a dress, even though it was the very day before Easter. Sure enough, later that day, my Aunt Betty backed her pickup into our driveway and said that the box of clothes in the back of it was for me. I still remember the beautiful tan dress with little purple flowers, white pearly buttons, and the silky purple ribbon for a belt…and not just a dress, but matching shoes, too.
These are just a few of the stories and I think that my mother-in-law is right that these should be written down for our children to know. These were the stories in the back of our minds as Joe and I started our life together, and when tough times came,
we would wonder: God, you helped our parents, but will you help us? Will you help our children?
And always, I would remember the Easter dress…what a seemingly unnecessary thing. I would have lived without it, but I think I got it because it was necessary for my faith. If God could be counted on to provide something that was only a want,
how much more would he take care of our needs?

I have been blessed to be on the giving end as well…there's nothing like it! When Daisy was ready for a twin bed, we needed to get rid of her little toddler bed, a beautiful little house and garden-looking bed that she loved. It was right before Christmas and I told the kids that we would put it outside with the mattress and a "free" sign on it; because Daisy loved it and was a bit sorry to see it go, we first prayed that whoever came to get it would be someone who loved it and needed it. Right after we put it out, a man stopped by and got out of his little truck. He looked bewildered. "This is free?" he asked. "Yes," my husband said, "do you need it?" He shook his head and said, "I can't believe this. I just got off the phone with my daughter and she was crying because her daughter got hurt in her crib last night. She said she can't let her sleep in it one more night and she needs a bed for her…but where was she going to get one just before Christmas when she doesn't have any money? And then I drive by your house and see this!"

It happens too many times to be coincidence…I am going to wrap this up, but will first promise to write the stories about what God has done for me and Joe during our years together…stories about a tree, a chance meeting on an airplane,
not having any income for 6 weeks, and my hearing loss.

I hope that you enjoyed reading these little stories and are inspired to share some of your own.
Of course, it would be nice to never experience need, but then we would not have these little stories
that leave us richer than if our parents had had all the money in the world. Through these, we have learned
that when our own resources are depleted, there is still a reason to hope and a reason to take another step,
even though we can't see where our foot will land. We have learned...and we haven't fallen yet.


Therefore, when reason can go no higher, let faith get on the shoulders of reason and say,
"I see land though reason cannot see it, I see good that will come."
~Jeremiah Burroughs