God's Little Miracles
Written by Christians of Anderson County
Written by Christians of Anderson County
Always
By Winona Galloway
By Winona Galloway
 There's always the morning after the night,
There's always the darkness followed by light.
There's always the sun after the rain,
There's always the comfort after the pain.
There's always the laughter after a tear,
There's always God who is ever near.
There's always the friends among an enemy or two,
There's always some one who remains true.
So as we travel life's weary mile,
Let's always travel with a smile.
There's always the darkness followed by light.
There's always the sun after the rain,
There's always the comfort after the pain.
There's always the laughter after a tear,
There's always God who is ever near.
There's always the friends among an enemy or two,
There's always some one who remains true.
So as we travel life's weary mile,
Let's always travel with a smile.
I found this handwritten poem in my grandmother's dresser drawer after she died. This book is dedicated to this wonderful woman who walked with God ninety years on this Earth and never lost her faith in Him. She was an example to all who knew her and especially to me.
Chapter one-
How It All Began
Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. (I John 2:7)
 
How do you begin a book, especially if you’ve never written one before? I know what I want to say, but how do I start? Do I introduce myself? Nah, to formal. Doesn’t matter anyway, this book isn’t about me.
If it were about me, it would be a sad tale, one filled with bitterness and regret. A life wasted for lack of a true direction. At least, that’s how it would sound if given from my perspective.
I don’t know exactly why, but I always see the negative side of everything. More truthfully, I obsess over the negative side of life. I think a friend of mine summed it up best when he said, “You know, some see the glass as half full and some see it as half empty, but, YOU….you are the type that will wait ‘til nobody’s looking, and then pour the water out of the glass just to have something to complain about”. I can’t argue with that. I’m a born pessimist, the quintessential “Doubting Thomas“. I question everything.
That being said, I cannot remember a time when I wasn’t aware to some extent of the existence of God. As far back as I can remember, I knew of the Lord. I was baptized when I was seven, but looking back on it I’m not sure that I genuinely made a commitment in my heart. I certainly never trusted God. Look at all He let me endure as a child. Look at the afflictions He lets me suffer today. Intense chronic depression, overwhelming anxiety, insecurity, etc. Not to mention the constant physical pain. There’s not a day of my life that I don’t hurt and ache all over, so much that I sometimes despair of life itself. That’s just the way God wired me, I guess. So why would He wire me that way, especially if He loves me so much? And while we’re on the subject, if He loves me and wants me to trust Him, why would He allow me to be the victim of that horrible lie?
What lie? The lie I’m referring to was told to me in my early formative years. A person whom I loved dearly told me many times that none of us will know whether God will accept us into His kingdom until the day of judgment. To consider one's self already saved would be a display of arrogance, and to do so would be the same as claiming to know the mind of God. All we can do in this life is do right and be good and hope that we are saved.
That simple misguided statement has caused me so much grief and distrust in my relationship with the Lord. I have spent a lifetime believing that I'm not good enough for Him. No one could tell me different and make me believe it. That lie had been drilled in deep. Think about it. I have a conscience, I know right from wrong. I have the ability to judge myself and my actions. Why would God want me after the things I've done? Surely, I am most certainly, without a doubt, doomed with a capital D.
Looking back on it now that I’m finally beginning to get the Truth planted in my heart, this person completely missed the point of the sacrifice of Christ. It’s taken me 38 years to finally begin to understand and trust that.
So how did it all begin? I said before that this book isn’t about me and it’s not, but it helps if the reader can get some sense of the writer and where he’s coming from; after all, I am your narrator. Also, in any journey, there is a starting point. What I’ve written above is my starting point. God has gotten my attention in so many ways this last year. Some I can’t talk about, things that made me sincerely wish that I could leave this world, having never known my purpose for being here in the first place. But God used those experiences to get my attention and although I’m still saddened by what’s happened, I am starting to see that He does have a plan. God used those experiences to show me that without Him, we are ALL wandering aimlessly. Without Jesus, we have no hope. John 14: 6 is the truth. Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. It is of the utmost importance, imperative even, that we be counted among His sheep. There’s just no other way for anyone to truly succeed in this life, or in the next.
So how did it all begin? Well, as I said, God really got my attention. On a very dark day when I was searching for hope, God showed me a book. My wife and I were in the church library and I saw a book about the Apostle Paul. I knew enough about Paul to think, “This is something I should read. This is a person who surrendered himself to God’s will. That‘s what I have to do.” It’s all about surrender.
I learned so much from the story of Paul. How he suffered for Christ and yet, never let anything steal his joy. He knew where that joy came from. The whole time I was reading, I was thinking, “God is showing me a model of what a true Christian should be”. I also noticed that Paul obviously loved writing for our Lord.
God gave me a love of writing, but I never thought of giving that gift back to Him, at least not until earlier this year. Back in the spring I started wishing that I could write for God. It doesn’t matter what led me to that desire, but what happened planted a seed. I even opened a separate email account last June under the name followthelamb. I didn’t know what it would lead to at the time, only that I wanted to write for God in some capacity. I prayed that God would give me a direction, some wonderful way to glorify Him. I believe He has now shown me what I should do, and I believe it’s His will that I do it. If I could pray for one thing only, it would be that He will lead the way and help me as I struggle to have faith and be patient. Neither virtue comes easy for me.
Since I’m not limited to one prayer, I’ve also asked that He will show me something, something big and beautiful (a miracle?) that will change my outlook on life and help me to better trust Him. To always have faith!
I believe God will do all of that and more, but that’s not what’s most important to me. What does matter most is that He has sown a seed and now I believe He wants fruit. I hope and pray that I can give Him fruit. I’m going to need a lot of help, though.
So, I’ll ask again, how did it all begin? We should all know the answer. God. In the beginning, God. That’s how and that’s who. This is God’s story. This is God’s book. A book about the many ways He provides for us on a daily basis. I will be writing a portion of it (as will my wife), but the rest is up to God and who He calls to write for Him. May His will be done.
Anything we have, we have because of God. Our world, our country, our lives, our so-called possessions; none of it is our own. We belong to Him. We can accept Him or deny Him, but the fact exists that He is the One in control, and He is the One we answer to. He is also the One we should hope to please. The fact that our country is in it’s current state of decline is a direct result of our diminishing recognition of God. I mean, look around you. The Truth has become hate speech.
I once heard the late Paul Harvey say that this nation was founded under God and has prospered because of God; but, if we as a nation fail to honor and recognize God and begin to say that we no longer need or bow to any God, then we can no longer expect God’s protection. Amen, Mr. Harvey. We must honor and remember God, always. Moreover, we must glorify Him daily; or rather, constantly.
Now, as for when my wife and I realized that God wanted this book written, I’ll have to let her explain that in her own words, since the idea occurred to her a year before I even got involved.
It was in the fall of 2010 when I felt God calling me to write a book. I had been wanting to write a book for a long time. I didn’t know what to write or how to put it all together, but God did. He knew just how to work it out.
I was going through a very difficult time in my life. I felt like a wandering Israelite in the desert. Wandering around in a big circle called life. I had no direction. The only one who got me through this was God.
I had been out of church for a long time. I knew God was leading me to go somewhere to find some healing. God is our healer and our comforter. He can send us people to help us heal, as well. A church body, for example. God gave me a church that brought me where I needed to be; humble, faithful, and to depend on God for everything. To trust God no matter what difficult things happen to me in life.
Last fall is when God was telling me about this book. I was in a Sunday morning praise and worship service when I felt I heard God’s voice, “Write a book”. I do not remember anything else other than that.
I kept it to myself for a while. It wasn’t until I was in a women’s Bible study group that this book idea really took off. I got the name of the book from a lady who shared in a testimony that we cannot forget about God. Summer of 2010 was very hot and we were in a bad drought. This woman was reminded about God, His grace, and His miracles when she saw birds playing and enjoying themselves in her birdbath. She got such joy from seeing this out her window. She said, “We can’t forget God’s little miracles, they are always there”.
When she said that, it was as if God had hit me with a lightning bolt. God’s little miracles! I thought, “That’s it. That’s the name of the book. God, thank you!”. I knew then that God wanted me to write about the miracles in people’s lives. There is always a miracle somewhere. I felt that people need to be reminded about what God can do in their lives. He is always there, faithful and waiting for us to come to Him.
As the days passed, I began to share about this book idea with a few people in the church. Everyone seemed to like it. So, I began to really pray about it, asking God for help. I knew that if this book was going to get written, that His timing had to be in it. I prayed in church one Sunday morning and wrote down my prayer. This is what I wrote-
God’s little miracles-
God, as I look around in this church today, I see each person with a miracle. I see each person with a story to tell. What a wonderful gift to share. For people to feel God, to see God’s work. You can save us from anything. Each person here was in chains of something or was lost and now saved. People have a story to tell. There are thousands of Christians who need help with day to day struggles. I can help. We need tools to help us. We need answers to life’s problems. You are an awesome God. For your grace. You give us grace, freedom, joy and life. To know God’s little miracles can be anything from life-saving to birds bathing in the hot summer. God, you are everywhere. Know, we need to know you are there. If reading a book can do that, then we can do this. We need to know that you are always going to be there. God, I pray that this book will be to your glory. I pray that God’s Little Miracles will save lives. What a blessing for people to read of your miracles. A book of people’s miracles, to help grow our faith in God. To give a testimony to how God can help us in anything.
As I look around I see a miracle in each person here today, each one of us here. Thank you, God. Thank you. I feel that this book will happen. I will pray about it each day. Thank you, God. I pray that the door will open on it. God, I can start today. Thank you, God. Thank you.
Now, this was last year. It took a year for God’s timing. I needed more time to grow, to be at a place where God wanted me as a person. I began to seek God and go through more pain and more turmoil in my life. I struggled with fear, loneliness, and a broken heart. I needed to be brought to a place where I could solely rely on God for everything in my life. I needed to have joy in my heart when darkness would creep in. For a whole year I went through horrible things, but God was there.
So, on the morning of September 11th, I was at church hearing a message called “Why does God allow”. In my mind I knew why God would allow. To bring us into a closer relationship with Him. Pastor was talking about this. God allows us to struggle to make us stronger Christians, so we can grow and be more mature. To have joy when the hard times come. And did they ever on that day. The pastor was speaking about an elder of the church, who’s wife had had a massive aneurism early Friday morning. She was given a 1% chance of survival. The doctor said that they could TRY to operate but that the operation would most likely kill her, or at best she would be a permanent vegetable.
But, the family of this woman were faith-walking Christians. They prayed and prayed. Fifty people from the church prayed with them. As the doctor was giving his grim prognosis, the woman’s three daughters were standing behind their dad, openly praising God with their hands in the air. Praising Him in the storm, glorifying His name. They had joy, no matter what was going to happen to their mother. Her husband had joy. Everlasting joy, through suffering.
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