Twice blessed

 In an attempt to help the people repent, the Lord's prophet Elijah prays for a draught and a famine follows. At first, Elijah lives by the brook Cherith and is fed miraculously by the ravens.  Then the brook dries up... 

1 Kings 17:8-16

8 ¶And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,

 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

 11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

 12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

 13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

 14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that theLord sendeth rain upon the earth.

 15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

 16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.

There are so many things to love about this miracle.  My grandpa passed away almost exactly two years ago.  He was almost 90, and had been sick for a very long time.  He was very sick in the 10 days leading to his death, and my family prayed earnestly for his release.  Death didn't come quickly, and it was heartbreaking to witness.  Reflecting on it afterward, my dad said, "Maybe more people needed to be part of the miracle."  Many people reached out to serve our family, and their love was like rain in a time of draught.  God could have continued to sustain Elijah by the ravens, but rather, He intended to include more people in the miracle. 

I have also experienced the miracle of being saved by the service I have given.  I know as disciples of Christ we are supposed to go about doing good, but service does not always come easily.  The miracle reminds me that the Lord provides me opportunities to service as a means to bless me.  Everything the Lord does is twice blessed. 

A Miracle for Fathers

Matthew 2:13-15, 19-21

And when they [the wise men] were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.

And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

President Boyd K Packer said,

“Now, fathers, I would remind you of the sacred nature of your calling.  You have the power of the priesthood directly from the Lord to protect your home.  There will be times when all that stands as as shield between your family and the adversary’s mischief will be that power.  You will receive direction from the Lord by way of the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

Many years ago, I was at a critical crossroads in my life.  My mother had done her best to steer me down a different path than the one I was on.  Her efforts caused me to slow down, be cautious, and figure things out.  But, it was my father that helped me have the clarity I desperately needed. I called him to wish him Happy Father’s Day, and because of that conversation, he helped me to “flee to Egypt,” and escape the certain destruction of the path I was on.  I know miracles happen and divine help comes as fathers seek to protect their families.

A Miracle for Mothers

The Book of Mormon tells of the miraculous preservation of 2,060 young warriors.  After converting to the gospel of Jesus Christ, their once blood-thirsty fathers covenanted never to shed blood again.  They found themselves in a precarious situation after continually being faced with war, and being forced to rely upon others for their defense.  The fathers were contemplating taking up arms again.  Not having made the same covenant, their sons offered to fight in their place.  

Their prophet leader recorded that he had never seen greater courage.  The young men recounted to him, "Our God is with us, and He will not suffer us that wo should fall; then let us go forth..."  It was written of them, "they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their live; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them." The young men rehearsed unto their leader the words of their mothers, saying: "We do not doubt our mothers knew it."  The stripling warriors fought in dangerous battles, receiving many wounds, but not one was killed.  

I have often thought about the mothers of this story, and the role they played in bringing about this miracle of protection for their children.  I believe that the only way they could have had no doubt regarding the return and preservation of their sons is if they had a witness of the Holy Ghost.  I can see in my minds eye these mothers pleading in prayer after their sons were determined to fight.  Given the history of this group of people, many of them may have been widowed mothers Alma 24:20-23.  I think these mothers advocated in their behalf and were promised blessings through the Spirit.  They trusted the promised blessings, and their sons were able to do the same.  Miracles follow praying mothers. 

The Miracle of Forgiveness

Mark 2:1-12

And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.  And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.

And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.

And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.  When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speaks blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? 

And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?

Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? 

But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)  I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.  And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

I love that Jesus is not only willing to forgive, but wants to make sure the man knows He is forgiven.  I am grateful for the gift of forgiveness in my life, but even more importantly, I am grateful for the ways God has let me know that I am forgiven.  

Here is a great talk on this subject.  

Cast about your eyes

Today's miracle took place when Moses was leading the children of Israel through the wilderness to the promised land.  

Number 21:5-9

 5 And the people ^aspake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? forthere is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

 6 And the Lord sent ^afiery ^bserpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

 7 ¶Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have ^asinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses ^bprayed for the people.

 8 And the Lord said unto Moses, ^aMake thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall ^blive.

 9 And Moses made a ^aserpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

For me, this miracle shows God's availability to us, and His mercy. He makes it easy to qualify for His grace and intervention in our lives while honoring our agency. 

I often think of communing with God like the metaphor of Moses climbing the mountain to speak to Him. Much of my religious experience feels like mountain climbing. But equally as important and valid an experience is to "cast about [our] eyes," (Alma 33:20-21). To look and live. God's grace is powerful. His mercy is abundant.

A new heart

Today was feeling very unmiraculous.  It is a grey day in central Pennsylvania, and it is raining buckets.  I feel like I have been experiencing layers of difficulties for many months.  Not the kind of challenges that would make a good book or movie, but challenges that are significant and stretching for me. 

I woke up today trying to have a new day, but with the difficulties of yesterday following me.  I thought about gratitude preceding miracles.  I gave myself a pep talk.  I thought about what I might write about today.  Which miracle?  Sometimes it is easier for me to believe that Christ can raise Jarius’ daughter from the dead, or that he can feed 5,000+ with five loaves and two fishes than it is to believe that with His help I will be able to make potato casserole for 125 people, prepare my family for a 12 day trip, and be ready to speak in church for 20 minutes on Sunday. 

Then I rear-ended someone on my way to the store to buy treats for the airplane and pounds and pounds of cheese, butter, and sour cream for the potato casserole.  Fortunately, everyone was fine.  We exchanged insurance information, and then I went to the store to buy the groceries I needed. 

On my way home I prayed. I felt sad, overwhelmed, and picked on.  As I prayed, I felt the pit dissolving in my stomach, and the heaviness in my heart dissipating.  I felt hopeful. 

Tonight’s miracle is a short, but powerful one.  Alma 5:7 says, “Behold, He changed their hearts…”  A new heart is a miracle I am always grateful for, and one I often find myself seeking.  Often in life God is isn’t willing to change our circumstances for us, but in my experience, He will quickly help change how we feel about our circumstances.  For me that is what a change of heart is all about.  If I can feel right I can do and act right.  For me that requires divine help; the miracle of a changed heart. 

The Power of Gratitude

John 6:5-13

When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, “Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”  And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, “There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?”

And Jesus said, “Make the men sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

I have often wondered if gratitude wasn’t an important part of what made this miracle happen.  It has been said that faith precedes the miracle, but maybe sometimes it is gratitude that precedes the miracle.  Perhaps gratitude is a powerful expression of faith that I ought to apply in my life more readily.  Many months ago I came across this TED Talk, and it has changed my life. Although there are still miracles I am hoping and waiting for, I have experienced the miracle of gratitude as a coping strategy.  My life is happier because gratitude helps me to have fewer Andrew moments, "but what are they among so many?"  Watch the talk and give thanks.