Everyone Wants to See A Miracle! Don’t You?

Everyone wants to see a miracle, but
no one wants to need one.
Am I right?

August 27, 2017 fell on a Sunday.
It was a beautiful day,
perfect for flying.
Clear skies, gentle breeze, ambient temps.

Exactly like Sunday, August 27, 2000
when my husband Craig and his airplane
disappeared.

My Adventure Boy husband,
took what should have been a routine flight
from Grand Rapids, MI to Lebanon, PA
to pick up a pastor friend.

He never arrived at his destination.

A search ensued that lasted for weeks.

Life was turned upside down and inside out.
Not just for me,
it affected my children,
my extended family,
and all my friends. 

Life as we knew it just stopped.

In that space of suspended anticipation,
our faith was tested and
our prayer lives exploded.

Everyone wants to see a miracle.
No one wants to need one.
I needed one.

Did I get it? 

I’ll let you decide.

The search for the four seater plane
rippled through the midwest.
Langley,
NASA,
the FAA,
Coast Guard,
State Patrols
and the Civil Air Patrol
exhausted every lead and resource
until there was nowhere else to look. 

And then … on the very last day of a very long search,
a Civil Air Patrol ground team
radioed in that they’d spotted the plane
under a canopy of deciduous trees.

“And Craig, have they found Craig?”
I pleaded hopefully.

There was no word.

I would have to wait at the command center
until the ground team hiked down to the crash site.

Would Craig be with the plane?
Had he survived?
The questions streamed endlessly
with no answers.

Hours later, the Civil Air Patrol chaplain came to find me.
His face tells me what he is reluctant to speak.

Craig is dead.

The plane had been caught in a downdraft
over the mountains.
Thrown like a dart through trees,
the impact had killed my man instantly.

I didn’t get what I wanted –
for Craig to be returned to me safely. 

But, I did get my miracle.

In the fall,
when trees become glorious exhibitions of God’s creativity,
on a mountain, after weeks of searching,
a maroon-red plane is found
under a canopy of red, yellow and orange trees
by a few volunteer men and boys,
assigned to cover a five square mile quadrant
of forested terrain in the rain.

Wouldn’t you call that a miracle?

I’d have to say yes.

I got the secondary miracle of
knowing what happened
and the closure that came with that discovery.

Friend, I don’t know what happens to
your mind and heart when your life turns upside down,
but mine runs to the land of
NO, NO, NO! 

I have to remember that when things are out of my control,
nothing is out of His. 
That I can talk through my fears with Him. 
That I can ask, and ask boldly for a desirable outcome. 
I don’t always get what I want,
but I can ask expectantly.

How about you? 
Where does your mind and heart run
when faced with calamity?

If you need hope for a miracle,
remember there is a God who loves YOU, too.

If you want to read more about this story,
I’d love to share it with you.

Look for my book The Widow Wore Pink, A True Story of Life After Loss and the Transforming Power of a Loving God, on Amazon or ask for it at your local book store.

  I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
 where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2 NIV

  Father, you are my hope and security.  Remind me to turn to you first and often. Be patient with my failed attempts to trust you as you lead me to my miracle. Amen.