“I will thank the Lord with all my heart; I will declare all your wondrous works. I will rejoice and boast about You. I will sing about Your Name, Most High!”

(Psalm 9:1-2 CSB)

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No Small Miracle

by Debbie Allen

A few years ago, I stepped into a new season in my old job; at a Middle School.  Due to shifting circumstances within the building and unexpected budget cuts at the district level; my job in the school office went away and a new position in the school library awaited me.  Knowing that when God ushers change into my life, it’s always for my good; I stepped through those library doors my first day with confidence and enthusiasm for whatever challenges lay ahead of me. The Librarian, Willy, however, did not share my enthusiasm.  When I watched her walking toward me that first day; she was wearing two expressions at the same time.  A haunting mixture of joy and hatred reflected in her eyes; while “Congratulations!” and “You’ll be sorry”, fought for first place passing through her pursed lips.   Extending my hand out to her, she reeled me into one of the tightest bearhugs I ever endured.  I tried to see it as a sign of hope for our future working relationship; somehow, I sensed that hug was only the first move in a wrestling match between her spirit and mine. The place where Willy’s power and qualifications took me to the mat at every turn, contending for a chance to prove what she referred to as my lack of library-knowledge and the wrong skill-set for tackling her Library domain.

 “Lord help me!” was the first prayer I uttered, sitting at my new desk in the library that day.  It was going to take a miracle for this new arrangement to work.   Little did I know it but…God was already in the process of doing that very thing.

After working my way through lists and lists of tasks expected of me, Willy called me into her glass office, just a few feet away from my desk.  Though I longed for a simple thankyou now and then, her reward for the completion of one list, was always to hand me another.  My servant-heart sometimes struggled with this curmudgeon behavior, but my prayer was that my face would never reflect it. After weeks of working through these lists, Willy finally solicited my help on a project she deemed as, “impossible!”

 She shared her attempts to try and find a new refrigerator for the library’s kitchen.  The hundred-year-old, refrigerator died; and the donated, mini-fridge plugged-in beside it wasn’t big enough to handle all the teacher’s lunches stored there daily. Feeling buried under the load of daily complaints piling-up on her; Willy, reached her wits’ end.  

Digging in the bottom of her purse for loose change, she went on to tell me, “Oh…and one more thing.  There’s no room in the school budget to purchase anything; so, unless you can buy a refrigerator for $25.00, we’ll have to make do!”

I left her office feeling set-up for failure.  I searched adds, went to garage sales, and kept my eyes peeled for a couple of months.  Nothing even came close to the limitations I was trying to stay within.  Ready to accept the failure that seemed pre-planned to fall on my shoulders, I almost gave-up the search and admitted it was impossible.    That’s when things shifted.

The following Monday evening, I waited in the foyer of the church where I attended Bible Study Fellowship meetings.  Standing at my assigned Greeting post, I welcomed a friend, as usual, on her way into the sanctuary.  After exchanging smiles and generalities, I stepped aside for her to pass. She didn’t. Instead, she flashed a half-smile at me and proceeded to share how her life circumstances were under-going a major shift.  She was putting her house on the market for a “quick sale”, having to move suddenly, and “Did I know anyone who needed a refrigerator?”

 I stood there stunned.  Reluctantly, I asked her how much she wanted for the fridge. Knowing our unrealistic budget, imagine my shock when she shrugged her shoulders and blurted out, “How about $25.00?”

The very next day, our custodian, took Willy’s $25.00, picked up the refrigerator from my friend’s house, and had it plugged-in and ready for us to use within the week!

The first time I put my lunch into that new refrigerator, my mouth fell open. It was a virtual condo for food!  Though it was eight years old, it looked like it came straight from the Sears showroom floor.  The brand name tag on the door said “Kitchenaide Superba” but, from my perspective, that tag might as well have read, “God-Gift Ultima”

Willy smiled more that week than I’d ever seen her smile before.  Though the story of my personal encounter with God’s Goodness in our time of need never really interested Willy; she had a larger- than-life, reminder sitting back in the library kitchen to do all the talking for me!  God’s Fingerprints were all over that refrigerator…and they always would be!

Of course …you won’t find the story of the ‘Miracle of the Kitchenaide Superba’   written anywhere on the pages in the Bible.  It doesn’t qualify as the ‘Story of Manna Falling from Heaven’ or the ‘Parting of the Red Sea’; but, it’s no small miracle to those of us who witnessed with our own eyes, what God can do with things that seem impossible for us.

 That particular year, I miraculously witnessed a refrigerator fall from the heights of Heaven right into Willy’s lap!  Though it’s been many years since that day, I can still picture that “God-Gift Ultima” standing in the library, kitchen. It still serves as an ever-present reminder to my heart of our Great God’s Provision to His children in our everyday living… even when we don’t stop to ask Him for it.  He continually sees and meets our needs before we speak them.

As the Thanksgiving Season approaches, I pray we continue to see the variety of the Beauty and Bounty that comes from the Hand of the Lord. Whether considering the abundance and goodness of the food and family we are blessed to sit in front of on Thanksgiving Day…or the refrigerator in our own kitchen where all the left-overs go to live; be reminded, they exemplify all God’s Good Gifts in our life.  His Care and Provision for us in all our seasons and circumstances, falls nothing short of being the miracle we should be looking for and thanking Him for …every day!  Praying you have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

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PRAYER:  Dearest Heavenly Father, what an incredible privilege we have to be able to thank You and sing praises to You. We are so grateful to feel Your Love in Morning’s light; and so humbled to speak of Your Great Faithfulness each night.  May Your Presence and Your Words become the Joy of our hearts and the Peace that floods our souls. As we step into another year of the Thanksgiving Season, may the words of the Prophet Jeremiah press a little harder against our hearts:

“Let’s take a good look at the way we’re living, and reorder our lives under God.”

(Lamentations 3:40 MSG)

Enable our eyes to see more clearly, the Abundance of Your Hand…Your everyday miracles and the true Beauty that comes from experiencing Your Love, Care, and Provision in our daily lives. Praising You and Thanking You Always, LORD!  In Jesus Name…Amen

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