It was a week before Christmas and all through the house I was not feeling it. I usually love the holiday season and one of my favorite parts is making Christmas special for someone else. That particular Christmas it seemed the opportunities to bless a child or family in need were just not there and I was bummed. Actually, I was pouting while getting ready to tackle my final day of Christmas shopping. Scrolling through Facebook I ran across a heart-warming tale of a store owner who caught a man shoplifting and quickly realized he was stealing Christmas gifts for his family. Instead of calling the police, she gave him additional gifts, wrapping paper, and an amazing Christmas dinner. I read that story and thought, that right there is something I want to experience. That’s when God told me, very clearly, that I could and would, if I just asked him to show me how. So, in that moment, I got on my knees on my bathroom floor and asked God to put someone in my path that day. I asked him to open my eyes to see them, to hit me over the head with them if necessary, and I told God that I believed whole-heartedly he would do exactly that.

My first shopping stop I could hardly focus on my shopping list because I was so busy looking for someone who needed help, but everyone there was totally fine. Hmm. Next stop was Target. I thought surely that would be it! There’s no better place to meet needs than the store that has everything, right?? Wrong. The day went on like this. I finally made it to what was supposed to be my last stop. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find what I needed and had to make an out-of-the-way trip to the Christian bookstore. By the time I got there I was worn out. I let the busy day push my belief for a Christmas miracle to the back of my mind. I walked in and was greeted by a clerk who asked if I needed any help, to which I replied “No, but thank you.”’ As I was trying to decide which gifts to buy, the same clerk approached me two more times to ask if I needed help. Each time I politely declined her offer. When I was just about done, I noticed a couple talking to this clerk and couldn’t help but over-hear their conversation. She told how she was now putting her life back together after being addicted to drugs. The couple prayed over her, and as they did I knew she was the one. Not only had God put her in my path just like he told me he would, he had even prompted her to approach me repeatedly, and prompted that couple to draw my attention to her when that didn’t work. 

I took a lap around the store and thought about how to start a conversation like this. I could have offered to pray for her, but the couple already stole that! I decided to check out then offer her one of the Bible studies I purchased. As I headed to the register, I started to worry because she was suddenly gone. When I finished paying, she was still missing. Had I missed my chance?  Disappointed, I finally decided I would use the restroom before heading home Then, the door to the restroom opened as I approached and she walked out. I stopped her and said “Excuse me, I hope you don’t mind me saying, but I couldn’t help but overhear that you are in a rebuilding phase, and I wonder if there is some way I can help you?” Then I held out the Bible study to her. She looked a little shocked but grateful as she took it and thanked me. As she walked away, I stopped her for the second time;  

“I’m sorry, but I can’t help but feel like there might be something else I can do for you, is there?”

She hesitated a minute, then said that she would appreciate prayer. I just knew in my heart that God had put her in my path for a specific reason. “I think there is something I am supposed to do for you, are you sure there isn’t anything else you need?” Eventually she shared that she was trying to regain custody of her daughter after being sober for a year. Part of the process was sending money to the court every week and she wasn’t sure where the money for this week’s payment would come from. “I will give you the money. I think that’s what God sent me here to do.” And with a sense of joy that comes from being a part of a Christmas miracle, that’s exactly what I did. We cried, we hugged and we prayed. I walked out of that store beaming with the assurance of knowingI serve a God of miracles, and that he lets me be a part of them. It was amazing.

I can’t help but wonder what would happen if I followed these same steps every day: align my heart with Gods, submit my day to Him, and have faith to walk it out. You may be in desperate need of a personal miracle, or perhaps you want to be the miracle for someone else. If we believe he does what he says he will do, and ask him how we can be a part of his plan, his word says that miracles will happen beyond what we can dream or imagine. I believe it, do you?

Personal reflection:

1. In my story I wanted to be a vessel, a part of the Christmas miracle for someone else. I believe this was a desire God put on my heart. Write down one thing you feel God calling you to, a desire he has put on your heart. 

   
   

2. My attitude, aka pouting, was keeping me from experiencing my miracle. Pray, consider, and write down what you might be doing to interrupt God’s will for this situation. Ask God to align your heart with his regarding this particular thing, and let him.

   
   

3. Pray and ask God to help you make sure the sun doesn’t set without you walking out your calling in this situation TODAY. Write down what happens!

Gena Anderson