Gas Can Miracle

A miracle is an inexplicable intervention that defies all rules of reason, nature, or science. Many people refer to miracles as being divine interventions, meaning that something not of this world had a hand in the event. If that's the case, then miracles must happen every day. After all, there is not a moment where God doesn't have His hand in the events of life.

Sometimes, miracles are small; some might even say meaningless. To many, small miracles aren't miracles at all because they don't fit the definition of defying all rules of nature. After all, science explains most occurrences. Other miracles are on a grander scale. Take the spiral staircase in a Santa Fe chapel for example. No expert can give a plausible explanation as to how it is standing, but it continues to stand, mocking the attempts to dispute its holiness.

For the most part, the human race has the wrong idea of what a miracle is. Many people feel they are owed a miracle, and when the one they had picked out for themselves doesn't come to fruition, they give up believing. When your grammy died after being very sick for 3 years, there were some who asked, "Why not a miracle for her? Why not a miracle for us?" One of your dad's wisest responses (and he is a very wise man) was, "Maybe our miracle was 3 years instead of 3 months."

Our miracles aren't up for us to choose. We may think we know what is best for ourselves, but there is one who knows better. Our miracles aren't up to us because we cannot see much further than ourselves. However, God sees the whole picture. God can see who and what will be affected by each and every action and reaction. Therefore, we should take the miracles we are given, and be thankful.

One of my favorite stories of your grammy is the story of Grammy's gas can miracle.

On November 16, 1985, Uncle Nick was born. Nick was one of Grammy's miracles. He was born very premature, and much like she did at the end of her own life, Grammy fought hard for the life of her youngest baby boy. This story is of one of God's small miracles, you know, the kind most "experts" would explain away as being coincidence. However, this is not the miracle of your Uncle's life. That's a story for a different day, and he could tell it better than I. This story is of God giving Grammy an opened window when it seemed that all of life's doors had been slammed in her face - a story that reminds us that life can be cruel, but God is ever faithful.

During the days after Nick's birth, Grammy traveled back and forth from her 3 boys at home to her newest son in a Dallas hospital, struggling to survive. This was at a time when Grammy didn't have a lot of luxuries. In fact, just getting by from day to day was a challenge.

One afternoon, while Grammy drove the 30 miles to be with Nick, her troubles were becoming overwhelming, weighing down on her like a ton of bricks. The mountain that had been placed before her seemed an impossible climb. Grammy, through tear filled eyes, continued anxiously checking the needle on the gas gauge of her car, as it edged closer and closer to "E." Grammy knew that her pockets were bare and that she would scarcely have enough gas to make it back home to her other 3 boys. Either she would not be able to come home to her 3 boys waiting for her, or she would not be able to see Nick again until her next paycheck. Both seemed impossible to bare. As Grammy drove on, she prayed for God to give her a way. She prayed that the bleak future she saw stretched before her would brighten just a bit. She had only 4 concerns, and each of them had an innocent face that looked to her for comfort. Brian, Brandon, Daddy, and Nick were her everything, and she prayed that God would give her a way to be the mother each of them needed.

Just then, the truck driving ahead of Grammy hit a small bump on the highway pavement, and out flew a bright red container. Grammy pulled to the shoulder to avoid hitting it. Heart racing from the near accident, Grammy sat for a while in her car, catching her breath. She glanced in her rear view mirror to see what it was that had caused her to swerve. With slow realization, Grammy let her eyes take in the sight. A red gas can sat upright in the lane closest to the shoulder. She hesitated for a moment, believing this type of divine intervention only fit for movies and books. Then (after looking both ways of course) Grammy hurried toward the can in the center of the lane. She kept repeating to herself, "It will be empty. It has to be empty." When she reached the can, she wrapped her slim fingers tightly around the handle and pulled up. The weight of the can was more than she expected, more than she had hoped, as it shifted from side to side, the liquid inside sloshing about. The can was full!

Grammy ran back to her car with the can and crouched down to lean on the tire. She hugged the can so close, thinking it might disappear, that it couldn't be real. But it was real. Grammy waited for several minutes to see if the owner of the can would come back to claim what he'd lost. When it was clear that no one was coming back for the can, Grammy stood, took off her gas cap, and began to fill her car. Happy tears streamed down Grammy's face, and as the tank filled with gasoline, Grammy's heart filled with hope and joy.

Grammy never had to miss a day of seeing any of her children. Nick was finally able to come home, and life went on. Was it a miracle? Maybe not. But Grammy never forgot what happened that day, and she told the story of her gas can miracle in hopes that those who listened, believer or not, would learn how to have hope.