Where Is the Miracle?

Yesterday, I made a nice big breakfast of eggs and pancakes for my oldest 2 boys before they raced off to school for their early classes.  They had a cross-country race, so I wanted to formulate the perfect meals so they would be strong but not weighed down.  At lunch, I made sure they ate a healthy balance of carbs and proteins as well.  The kids were excited for their big race.  There are only 4 races in the whole season, and they had improved considerably over the last week.

The boys met with their team to travel on the bus, and we packed up our van with snacks, all the children, and Grandmommy too.  It was about 40 minutes away.  We stopped for gas and picked the gas station that looked like it would be the fastest in and out situation.  When Abe ran in to pre-pay for his pump, an older man came over and used our pump for his car!

I leaned my head out the window and said, "Hey!  You can't do that."  He explained that he had told the cashier the wrong pump, so he was just using ours.  What he didn't know was that Abe had already corrected the situation and the cashier had transferred the man's amount over to his correct pump.  Now this stranger was using our money and our pump.  The manager had to come correct everything, and Abe had to return to the inside of the gas station several times.  Needless to say, we were there for a LONG time as I impatiently watched the clock tick.

We finally got on the road again.  We were only a few minutes away from the meet when we received a message from Jackson that his bus had just arrived to pick them up from their school.  Upon arrival, the bus driver realized she had a flat tire.  We called Jackson to find out what was going on.  He sadly broke the news that the team had no way to get there now because by the time another bus could come, they would miss the race.  We were all so irritated... not because of the flat tire- that happens- but because the bus (for the 2nd week in a row) was VERY late.  Even more irritating was that it was part of the original plan from the athletic director to get the kids to the race only 20 minutes before it started, so when the bus was late AND with a flat tire, that left no buffer time.  If the bus had come early or even on time and then had the flat tire, there would have been time for other options to get the kids to their race.

I felt especially irritated because I'm their main school teacher and their main coach.  Win or lose... I LOVE watching the kids perform.  The looks on their faces as they try their very hardest is the treat at the end of all the work and training.

We sadly turned our van around to pick up our children at the school.  I felt my irritation build towards the school for their poor planning.  I prayed for something good to come out of this.  It was sad to see the boys climb into the van wearing the uniforms... but no race.  Our smiles slowly returned as we re-enacted our own race (in the car) as we neared our home- I was the announcer... announcing them as the winners.

Trying to make "something good to come out of this" I decided to make a special dinner.  The highlight was home-made chips and fresh guacamole dip.  Right during dinner, Jayden stood up, coughed once, and threw up all over the table.  Abe's mom grabbed her plate and went running.  The kids all screamed and shoved their chairs backwards, and I swooshed Jayden away to the shower while my hero husband cleaned the table.  Half of our food had to be thrown away.  Thank goodness for Abe's cleaning skills!

The night continued... Abe, the children, and I rehearsed an African song, dance, and drum piece we would be performing for the multi-cultural night at church on Friday.  That went great.  Their African roots were flowing from their bodies. :-)

The night continued... Jackson, Tyson, and Jordan and I decided to go for an impromptu late night run.  It was beautiful to run with my boys in the quiet of the night alongside the peaceful lakes.  Lights glistened off the smooth water.

As I said my prayers, the most special moment in the day became vivid in my memory.

This moment was better than the race could have ever been.  It was better than my hero husband cleaning up all the throw up.  It was better than my children's African roots flowing from their cute little bodies.  It was even better than our moonlit run.

God reminded me of the moment in the day when I had been searching the house for Jackson.  I had called his name several times until I found him quietly reading his scriptures on the couch.  He hadn't responded because he was so enthralled in the scriptures.  My heart was overjoyed to see my middle school aged child choosing and remembering to feed and strengthen his soul with God's word.

Most days, there are irritating moments, moments of disappointment, moments of disaster, and moments of beauty.  As I prayed to God, HE showed me the moment of a true miracle...

Yes, my son's athletic ability is increasing each day; but more importantly, his spirituality is increasing even greater with each day.  Seeing the sweet expression on his face as he looked up at me from his scripture reading beat any finish line expression I could have witnessed for the day.  I thank God for showing me HIS miracles of the Spiritual growth in my 11 year old son.  After all, that really is the most important to me.