Congratulations to Dorothy Donahue, this week’s winner of the 2010 edition of His Mysterious Ways. This week, one lucky random commenter will receive a 2011 One-minute Devotions Page-A-Day Calendar, which features Mysterious Ways stories every weekend. Register below and get commenting!
Dorothy, in her comment, shared her own “Lost & Found” Mysterious Ways story:
“My son once gave me a set of crystal earrings for my birthday—they were way out of his price range, which I felt bad about, but knew he wanted to do something special for me.
One night after my shower, I realized I hadn’t taken out these very earrings, as I usually do before showering. To my dismay, one was gone! I went back to the bathroom and checked every inch, but there was no sign of it. I had showered in our pool bathroom, which has no tub or edge to keep the shower water contained, so I had taken the squeegee and carefully scraped all the water into the drain. My heart sank as I thought of it—now gone forever below the ground!
I checked out the small bathroom floor a couple of more times for any trace—nothing. I went back to my bedroom and got all teary-eyed—my son and I didn’t see each other often, so the earrings meant that much more to me. I prayed specifically for a miracle that somehow, somewhere it would show up and I would find it again.
Then I had a peace that I was going to find it. Just then I got the idea to go look in the bathroom again. How absurd! I’d checked so thoroughly.
I walked back to the pool bathroom, pushed the door open and took one step in. There in the middle of this tiny bathroom was my earring—sparkling and glimmering in the sunshine coming through the window.”
I love hearing stories from readers about how they felt or witnessed God’s presence in their lives. A lot of these stories tend to fit into different categories—like Dorothy’s “Lost and Found” story above. We also get what we like to call “His Humorous Ways,” surprising, funny moments that serve as little reminders from God to lighten up and laugh once in a while. Or “Perfect Timing” stories, which show us that we can make all the plans we want to, but God may have a different—and more important—schedule planned. We’ve heard some pretty amazing “How We Met” stories, about the strange twists and turns that led a couple to find out they were made for each other. And of course, we receive many “Comfort From Beyond” stories, in which God delivers signs to us that our departed loved ones are okay, allowing us to move on.
I really have the best job at Guideposts (don’t tell Edward), because reading these stories shows me that evidence of God’s love isn’t always in the big “miracles” we see in the newspapers. Usually, it’s in the things that happen in our lives everyday. These stories really inspire me. Even the ones we don’t publish. Just because our editors may think a story isn’t more than coincidence or can be easily explained away, doesn’t mean that I haven’t been touched by the writer’s positive attitude and honest faith.
Please continue to share your stories, or those of friends, below in the comments or in an email to mw@guideposts.org.