VALENTINE’S
DAY
During a church service, a few weeks
prior to Valentine's Day of February 14, our Pastor shared a story with the
church congregation. He said, "A congregation in the foothills of the
Smokies wanted to build a new sanctuary. But days before opening, the building
inspector noted that they could not open until the parking lot was doubled. The
only way to have more parking was to move the mountain out of the back yard. The
church prayed asking God to remove the mountain and to provide enough money to
have it paved and painted before the scheduled opening the next week. The next
morning the pastor was visited by a construction foreman. He said, 'We’re
building a new shopping mall in the next county and we need fill dirt. Would
you be willing to sell us a chunk of that mountain behind the church? If we can
have it right away, we’ll pay you for the dirt we remove and pave all the
exposed area free of charge.' The church opened and was dedicated as planned.
God does move mountains!"
As I listened to the Pastor's
motivating story, I felt inspired to pray my own hope-filled prayer. I prayed,
"God, will You please write, John 3:16, in the clouds above this
town for Valentine's Day?" After the church service ended, I approached my
Pastor and shared my prayer. "Just think, people will be looking up to God
on Valentine's Day." Later, at home
I drew “John 3:16” in a cloud-like formation on my prayer board. During the
next two weeks, I faithfully prayed.
On the morning of February 14, I
scrambled to find my camera to capture on film God’s glory in the sky. With camera
in hand, I drove my son to school. I tried hard to pay attention to the road, yet
I was eager, and kept glancing up to the heavens. One cloud had moved into the
shape of the number 3. It even had a fluffy semicolon beside it. Two other
clouds carved a perfect "JO." But, where was the complete “John 3:16?”
I drove around town then went back home to read my email.
My eyes were drawn to a friend’s entry.
"I saw this while driving back into town this
morning." She attached the following photo.
Just above our hometown was a puffy cloud
in the shape of a heart. I smiled. Later on, I searched until dark at the
immense panorama of the sky. No “John 3:16!” That evening, after I tucked my
youngest son into bed, I glanced at my prayer board. I humbly, tearfully and
honestly asked God "Was it selfish to hope for something so personal Lord?
I am sorry." Then, I picked up a copy of a paperback booklet called Our Daily
Bread. I read a story called, Magic Eye. "But even though he
couldn't see the hidden image, he believed it was there because others had seen
it." Oh Lord, I don't need to see a special miracle just for me. I know
You are here, around me and within me.
The next day, a friend whose father was
recovering from a massive and sudden stroke called me. She wanted to drop by on
the way to the hospital. I asked my friend if I could pray with her over the
phone. She softly replied, "You can pray." So, I prayed. "Please
Lord, comfort my friend in her time of great need. Show her Your significance
and that You are indeed with her and her family right now."
She reached out to me at my front
door, so I shared my prayer for Valentine's Day. I said, "I didn’t get to
see the entire ‘John 3:16’ written in the sky," however, for some unknown
reason, I still find myself looking up." As she got into her car, she
smiled and said, "I like that, now I am going to be looking up too!"
The phone rang. "Donna, I just
had to call. You are not going to believe this! As we drove out of town, we
looked up towards the sky. There it was! ‘3 dot dot 1 6. Your 3:16!’
My tears overflowed warm and comforting! Even though I couldn't see the hidden
image, I believed it was there because others had seen it.
To read how I first surrendered my heart to Christ, please click here: http://dlouyoung.blogspot.com/p/store.html
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment