Miracles

Every morning, well before the arrival of the sun, and as I pedal my bicycle, I pray,

“Thank you, Lord for the miracles which you have bestowed upon me throughout the course of my life.”

(And there have been many).

Among the most profound was what I have referred to as “The hand on my shoulder.”

A traveling evangelist spoke at our church over the course of a week. And on his last night the pastor invited everyone who would to come up to the front, surround the evangelist and participate in group prayer over him. The norm in such an evangelistic gathering has each person within the circle stretching out his or her hand, and laying it on the shoulder of the person ahead of him or her. Thus, I thought little or nothing about it when someone laid their hand on my right shoulder. However, as the prayer concluded I still perceived the weight of the hand. And as the pastor gave us permission to walk back to our pews, I still sensed the weight of the hand on my shoulder. Finally, daring to “do a 90” to my right, I noticed 

… there was no one there!

And yet, the weight of the hand was unmistakable. As I sat down in my pew, and as the minister spoke the benediction, the invisible hand lingered in the same old place. As I stepped into my car, and my wife and I drove the five minute trek home, you guessed it. And for minutes after I settled into my easy chair, I sensed a full pound of pressure on my right shoulder.

Not a day goes by that I fail to consider how many times God has saved me from almost certain death. 

Years ago, I may have been 20 at the time, I was working as a pit gun operator for one of the local phosphate mines. Pit gunners routinely used a high pressure hydraulic cannon to flush phosphate feed down a drain leading to a building in which the ore is purified, and prepared for shipment.

One evening I decided to take a break from my duties, and proceeded to walk across the hundred feet which separated me from the dragline; thinking I would socialize a bit with the ‘driver’ of the colossal beast.

As I approached the dragline, I realized the unthinkable. For off to my left I saw the massive ten ton bucket, a great steel behemoth which might easily hold two pickup trucks, on an irrevocable flight towards me. 

At approximately the same time I noticed the terrible bucket bearing down on me, the dragline operator witnessed my predicament, and managed to do what only a seasoned operator would have had the presence of mind to do.

Dropping the massive bucket it slammed against the side of the great hole in the ground he’d been excavating for several weeks; and with only moments to spare.

Several months ago I found myself doing what I do almost every night, well, every morning, if you call “dark city” morning. I jumped on my slow, but trusty bike and headed off on an all too familiar 10 mile trek.

On this particular morning I happened to stop at an intersection, preparing to cross a 4 lane highway, and looked to my right. And strangely enough for 4am, I could just make out the form of a fella walking towards me on the sidewalk; perhaps 50 feet away.

Well, not being overly concerned about the man walking in my direction, I glanced one more time to my left, and prepared to “high tail it” across the highway. Mind you, no more than 2 seconds had elapsed since I had noticed the guy walking towards me on the sidewalk, and as I began peddling, I glanced back to my right.

And where a moment before there was what appeared to be a six foot, 170 pound man,

… only thin air greeted my gaze.

There happens to be an 8 foot high wall that runs along that sidewalk, and which borders a gated community, and there had been absolutely nowhere for “my friend” to go. He certainly didn’t vault the wall in record time, and since there are plenty of street lights along that stretch of highway, I would have seen him had he walked across the street.

I had, without doubt or contradiction, been in the presence of something or someone of another world.

MIRACLES

Just a few among many of which I have been privileged to participate. 

I may question the sincerity of a friend, I may despise the wisdom of a counselor, I may distain the word of a trusted leader, but I will never doubt the reality and presence of Miracles in my life.


By William McDonald, PhD.  Excerpt from "(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary," Vol. 36. Copyright pending

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