I facilitate a ladies Bible study one night a week. We recently finished the book we were working through, and I suggested we have a “Bring Your Best God Miracles” night. What a blessing to hear how God had worked in each of our lives in miraculous ways. One of the sweet ladies in the group is Emjay Luby…an excellent writer and the talented author of “The Courting Dress.” She was kind enough to write up her miracle to share it with all of you. Enjoy!
I was twenty-five and hugely pregnant with my third child. We were economically-challenged and lived in a rent-free two-bedroom shack on the outskirts of Santa Fe. The cheaply-built home lacked insulation and the only heat source was a dangerous kerosene heater that sat in the living room. During the winter, my husband and our two young sons all slept in close proximity to the heater to stay warm. Worse still, we went without water for several months every year because during the dry months in northern New Mexico, the water table dropped and our well went dry.
I couldn’t bear the thought of bringing my third child into the inadequate house that was already bursting at the seams. Since the baby was due in late October, winter was fast approaching. There were only so many people who could sleep in the living room.
My husband and I were new Christians and belonged to a little Baptist Church close to our home. In despair, I prayed that God would provide a better place for us.
Within a couple of weeks, we learned that friends of ours who attended our church were closing their business in town and moving to California. The family consisted of a father and mother, two sons and the sons’ wives – all of whom worked in the business. When they heard of our plight, the younger son suggested we move into their apartment, which was closer to town, thinking their landlord would be delighted to have a ready-to-move-in family. We went to see the place and were thrilled with its roominess, central heating, running water, and affordable rent. The only downside was that it was only a one-bedroom apartment, but it had a huge closet which we could easily convert to a bedroom for the boys. The new baby would sleep in our bedroom.
I thanked God for answering my prayer so quickly and began making preparations to move. A phone call dashed my hopes. The landlady said she couldn’t rent a one-bedroom apartment to a five-member family with a large dog.
Heart-broken and thoroughly ticked off, I put the phone down, stood and shook my fist at God. Railing against Him I shouted, “You don’t give a damn about us at all! How could you let us stay in this hell-hole? I thought you were the God who answered prayers and wanted the best for us.” Turning around in the tiny living room, I asked Him, “Does this look like the best? I was told I’m a child of the King. Well, this is no way to treat a princess!” Then I cried.
My baby was due any day when the older son called and invited us to his house. When we got there, he and his wife explained that they were going to be putting the house on the market, but not for several months. They wondered if we would be willing to live there until they could make the arrangements to sell it. All we’d have to do is pay the utilities.
I looked around the house in amazement. It was huge – four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a den. It had a washer, dryer, and dishwasher. It was far more than we ever could have afforded; far more than we could ever imagine. I could barely find the words to express our gratitude to them as we happily accepted their generous offer.
When I got back to our house, I fell on my knees and with tears of shame begged God to forgive my angry rant against Him and my lack of trust in His plans. I praised Him for going above and beyond anything I could ever hope or imagine. I had asked Him for a tiny apartment with one bedroom and He had said No because He had something far better; something far more suited for a family of five. And, it was rent-free.
The day we moved in I went into labor, but things were going slow, so I knew I had plenty of time. Later that night, the contractions stopped, so falling into our bed in our new and luxurious bedroom, I fell into a deep sleep. Looking back, I realize that God was working in the timing of the delivery. He wanted us to be settled in before our child was born. Two days later after everything was in place, the contractions began in earnest, and after a long and painful labor, I gave birth to a beautiful little girl. What a joy it was to bring her home to a warm, comfortable home – a home that had more than enough room for our sons to run, play and shout, while our baby girl slept peacefully in our bedroom on the other side of the house. Life was good. God was good.
A few days later after Sunday night church we had our best friends over to show them the new house God had provided. When they came in they noticed that the old refrigerator we had brought from our shack was still sitting in the living room where my husband had put it in our hasty move. They asked us what we were going to do with it, and we told them we were going to sell it. I said I planned to place an ad in the newspaper the next day (this was 1970 — there were no home computers; no Craigslist).
About ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. My husband answered the door to find a young man standing there. He said, “Hi, I’m here for the refrigerator.”
“What????” All of us had goosebumps. We were totally stunned.
After inviting the man in and showing him the refrigerator, he readily agreed to the $35.00 price we had set. But, before we could let him go, we had to know how he had showed up at our door — how he had known we had a refrigerator for sale.
Almost sheepishly, he admitted, “Look, I don’t know what happened. I read an ad in the classified section, called the people and told them I’d come by.” He shuffled his feet and then said, “I know I’m on the wrong street and that this isn’t the address I was told to come to, but something led me here.” He put his palms up and shrugged. “I can’t explain it.”
We told him our side of the story, and all of us agreed it was a God thing. Our wonderful Lord wanted to show us that He didn’t just care for us, He delighted in showing us His amazing love. He led the puzzled man to our home at exactly the right time in order to demonstrate that He wasn’t too busy to take care of even the smallest details. I pictured Him beaming with delight at our baffled looks, our wonder in this miracle.
After the man left with the refrigerator in the back of his truck, the four of us bowed our heads and thanked God for His amazing work in our lives.
When I went to bed that night, my heart was bursting with joy, wonder, and the love of my Father – the same God who had provided this wonderful, spacious new home had performed a miracle that was witnessed by five people.
That event has stayed with me all these years. It reminds me that when I don’t get what I want or think I need, my Father in heaven, is probably saying, “Dear Daughter, just wait. I have something so much better for you.” And, with that thought, I can rest and say, “Yes Daddy, you always do.”
