Life is a Miracle Collection

People Are People

People Are People

I write books. That is what God has blessed me to do. And, in the course of that, I have met illustrators across the world, who have touched me on a human level. Living in Europe for many years taught me that lesson too ... people are people, doing it God's Way!

It isn't logical that strangers can relate, heart to heart, or relate at all. But we find ourselves bringing Him Glory by a heart full of love. Are there those who bring us pain, of course. But they are in His Hands too.

An example is what a German friend, Poldi,told me: His friend was in a prisoner-of-war camp. A guard wanted the man's ring, which he tried to remove. When he was unable to, he cut the man's finger off to get the ring!

At the same time, Poldi thanked my husband and me for giving him our extra container of gasoline when he was stranded on the autobahn highway. Strangers! We felt it was an insignificant act, but their family and ours became life-long friends!

I have a friend, a fellow-American, who has been my friend for 52 years (when did we get this old?). Time passes, but people who touch our lives can do it in a profound way!

I met my former (late) husband, Larry, when we were both in the U.S. Air Force. Now, our granddaughter is a WAF (Women's Air Force). That's how we connect. We grow older, but we don't forget. Well, sometimes, I guess we do.

My pastor told me about his mother giving him a picture frame for Christmas. As new frames often do, it had a random picture in it of an old man. Pastor put the frame away for some time. One day, he was visiting his mother and saw the same frame on the wall, with the original picture in it.

He questioned his mom, and was told the old man was his great-great grandfather (a pastor too). We don't always appreciate our heritage or the people we meet along the way. But each has an impact on our lives, good or bad.

They say that everything happens for a reason, even the trials and tragedies. God has a plan and each person and event can play a part. Maybe we don't see the importance until the moment has passed. Then, it all comes together. Hence, my amazement to see the puzzle pieces now. What a picture it has made! Again, that's God's Way. He gives us free will and we make mistakes, but He knows how it is meant to be.

When we get to Heaven, we will learn how many more blessings we might have had. My favorite scripture is Jeremiah 29:11 "I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper, not to harm you, but to give you hope and a future". That is what I live by and what makes things work.

Another granddaughter recently had her first baby, five weeks early. The baby was over 6 pounds and would have been too big for a full-term birth (since the father is a big-built man). God knew what he was doing and the baby was home within a few days. Sometimes, what looks like one thing, on the surface, can have quite a different outcome.

My ex-husband and I had moved from a house we lived in for almost two years (a long time by Air Force standards). We finally left and the house was empty. Four tornadoes hit the city at once, killing over forty people. That house was leveled to the ground, but no one was in it! It was meant to be.

Little things can happen too, that we might not recognize as God's Hand at the time. Many things are a result of someone's prayer. I stayed with my mother, while Larry was in Korea, and she prayed for the family every day.

I was leaving her home, one day, to sing at a church. I had a car accident, that could have taken my life. But, I survived and eventually had a testimony about the incident, a story of survival. Bones were broken, in my neck and knee. I spent months in a wheelchair and neck brace and had a concussion that almost led to a pain-killer addiction!