“Miracles happen everyday.” How many times have we uttered that statement in our lives? We say it to ourselves and to our family and friends, but how many of us actually believe it. We say we believe it and we do, but how many of us actually believe that miracles happen everyday? I know that I have made this statement countless times, but I also know that I have struggled to truly believe that miracles do indeed happen everyday. This is something that I continue to work on in my life and something that I hope to get better at as time goes by. However, I am here to tell you that miracles do happen everyday. Often it is only after the miracle occurs and we can look back on the course of our lives that we can actually see the miraculous event in its entirety.

My grandma was a firm believer in miracles. She lived her life believing in miracles, witnessing miracles, and sharing the miracles that God had performed in her life. She instilled this belief in me, yet still I struggle. I struggle to see them as clearly as she did, and I struggle to share them as boldly as she did. Even with my grandma’s final breath, she was telling people about the miracles that had occurred in her lifetime. Her mother had done the same thing, and my grandma even wrote a book after her mother died entitled Miracles From God for Mom. This book was about all the miracles that God had performed in my great grandma’s life. She shared them with my grandma who then wrote about them so that others could be witness to the miracles. So you see, sharing miracles should come easily to me. It truly is part of my family legacy.

In the days following my grandma’s death this past May, I found myself being physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted. I spent many days sleeping on the couch, in bed, or even in my chair. To say that I was depressed would not be an accurate statement. I am sure that I was, but it was more than that. I was tired. This went on for about a week and then one day as I was sitting in my chair half asleep and half awake, I heard my grandma’s voice. I heard it as plain as if she were in the room with me. She said, “We can all make miracles happen if we follow where God leads us.” She repeated it over and over again, and when I opened my eyes, I found myself repeating the phrase over and over again, and I have continued to do so. When we follow God and when we are obedient to Him we can make miracles happen. God can use all of us to make miracles happen. We should never forget that. God uses you, me, and every single person on this planet to make miracles happen for someone else. So you see, my original statement was correct. Miracles do happen everyday, and we can all assist God in making those happen.

With that being said, I would like to share a miracle that God performed for me, and you will see how He used other people to make that miracle happen. The miracle that I am going to share with you is how Jeff and I came to live in our rental house.

When our house sold in February, Jeff and I knew that we needed to find a place to rent while we built our saltbox. We started looking, but we could not find anything. It truly seemed like there was nothing out there for rent. Jeff looked online, and we drove around, but we did not find anything. Through the assistance of God, I had a real sense of peace about it. I kept saying, “The right place will come available. We just have to have faith.” I said it so often that I think people thought I was crazy. They could not imagine why I had so much peace about our situation. I knew, but I think others struggled to understand. Then on March 6th we were at our niece Katie’s birthday party and our sister-in-law, Amy, told me about a house that a friend of theirs had. The couple had built a new house, but their previous house was not for sale, and they really had no plans of selling it right away. Amy had mentioned the house before, but I kind of dismissed it because it wasn’t for rent. Even the second time she mentioned it I still dismissed it. Then while Katie was opening her presents, Amy mentioned the house to Jeff, and suddenly it was like I was hearing her for the first time and I thought to myself, “That’s the house for us.”

Amy contacted her friend, Kristine, who along with her husband, Brian, owned the house. Kristina said they were willing to rent the house, but they needed to empty it out because they still had some of their things in the house. Jeff and Kristina began texting each other and discussing the details about renting the house. It sounded like the perfect house for the dogs and us. It was located in Herrin, it had a fenced in backyard, and it was a newer home. When we went to see the house, Kristina and Brian were still moving their things out, but I could tell immediately that this was the house for us. We were on a time crunch because we had to be out of our old house on April 4th. On March 31st, the house was ready. Kristina and Brian had the inside of the house painted and had even replaced some of the carpet. It was truly like moving into a brand new house. They told us that we could replace the lights and that we could make it as much like our home as we wanted.

This house was truly sent to us from God. He had it picked out for us long before we even knew we needed it, and He used people to make the miracle that He was performing happen for us. He used Amy, who persistently told me about the house even when I wasn’t really receptive to what she was saying. He used Brian and Kristina who worked really hard to make the house so nice, and He used Jeff who had the ears to hear what Amy was saying.

I will never forget the events that led to us finding our rental house, and I will never stop being thankful to God, Amy, Kristina, Brian, and Jeff for letting God guide them and being obedient to what He was saying to them. It took a team of people working together to make this miracle happen for me, but God was the coach of the team and with Him as the coach, miracles happen. So, my grandma was right. We can all make miracles happen if we follow where God leads us, and now I truly know and believe that miracles happen every day. We just have to have the faith, the eyes, and the heart to see them. Believing in miracles and sharing them with others will give all of us hope. Hope will lead us to peace and PEACE MATTERS!

~Dan~

Below are some pictures of a miracle house. I hope you enjoy looking at the picturesas much as I have enjoyed decorating this house.

Dining Room