The Miracle That Set My Course For Life

God gave me a miracle as a 5 year old little girl that has maintained my firm faith in Him my entire life.

We lived in a 2-story log home deep in the country surrounded by forest.  We had a big beautiful garden, a small pond close by, berry bushes for picking, and I remember a field of flowers.  There was also a large squared-off area of flowers beside the garden.  My mom worked extra hard to keep this area special and beautiful.   I loved that home and the nature surrounding it!

It was nearing the end of the summer, and my dad and brothers were gathering up the dead brush from the garden to burn it.  They didn't realize how dry the rest of the field was, so the fire spread quickly beyond the dry brush and began to burn the good parts of the garden.   I remember the panic that ensued.  Family members ran back and forth with pails of water yelling at everyone to hurry!!  I watched the fire quickly move towards Mom's special area of flowers, and I got really worried.

I stopped in the middle of the path of my brothers and sister running with water, and I prayed.

I remember well what I said in that prayer:  "Dear Heavenly Father, please oh please bless that my mom's special flowers won't burn.  She worked so hard on those."  As I prayed I heard my brother yell, "Rachel, what are  you doing?  Get some water!!"  I quickly closed my prayer and looked up towards my mom's flower garden.

I saw the fire burning in an exact line edging my mom's special garden of flowers.  The fire even made a 90 degree turn around the second edge of the flower garden.  I couldn't believe my eyes!  The fire did not touch her flowers!!

Then, I heard somebody yell that the fire was heading towards the forest!  I prayed again asking God that the fire would not reach the forest.  Right then, 2 very old men came walking over from down the street and started hitting the fire with their canes along the edge of the fire.  The fire died down just as it reached the edge of the forest.

I don't think I ever did get a pail of water.  I was in awe of the miracle I had just witnessed.  Nobody even noticed the miracle of the flower garden.  Everybody else had too much common sense; they were doing the practical thing- getting the water!!  Getting the water was definitely necessary, but God was mightier than all the pails of water put together.

I hardly ever share this experience.  My own mother didn't even know about the miracle that day, but this experience is one of my keystones that has held my faith in God my entire life.  I always knew that God was listening and still performed miracles... even for a stunned little girl who didn't know how to get a pail of water.

Because of this experience, I have always known that God cares about the little things... like the flowers.  I have always known that I could pray to my Heavenly Father and put all of my faith in Him.  Since then, I have endured many difficult challenges; and when I was tempted to doubt, I always returned to that faith I learned in my childhood.

Also, because of this experience, I have prayed for my own children to receive the experiences that they need to keep them strong through life.  I thank God for His miracles.