Forgotten Miracle

I don't know if you have a specific place in your house where you sit to pay bills.  For me its either the kitchen table or a small wooden desk upstairs.  Both have a hard wooden chair, which fits the uncomfortable task of paying bills.

A couple of weeks ago I was going over our bills and looking at a few receipts while Thomas and his friend Isaiah, who had spent the previous night with us, played in the living room.  A few of you know that we have had quite the summer in the Koelzer household.  Both of our main vehicles had major, expensive issues.  Our refrigerator went out, our water heater went out, our air conditioning went out... twice!  Even the front door knob broke off in my wife's hand.  It was a stressful and very expensive summer.  Sometimes when it rains, it pours.

Of course we are not the only family that has ever had to deal with breaking down appliances and breaking down cars.  And many of you have had a cascade of problems contained within a short amount of time just like us.  But it sure can be depressing.

Thomas and Isaiah came into the kitchen while I was looking up information about pulling the starter off our Corolla to have it tested --- third vehicle to break down.  Isaiah needed me to open a little drink pack he has to to have every day to take care of his transplanted organs.  I gladly opened it for him, patted him on the head, and went back to my computer screen.  As he walked away he asked, "when is Miss Heather going to take us swimming?"

Just as I was about to go upstairs to pull up our carpet and assess the damage from a leaking window (thank you Hurricane Isaac), I heard Isaiah laugh loudly.  And as I turned to look at him I felt like God was speaking to me.  It seemed like he was saying, "Remember?  Do you remember?"

For those of you who do not know, Isaiah Johnson is the  eleven year old adopted son of Aaron and Jennifer Johnson.  He was born with his intestines outside of his body and has spent a large portion of his life in hospitals.  Ike, as he is known at home, had an organ transplant a handful of years ago, and it failed.  Most recently he has had a three organ transplant.  Yes, I said THREE organ transplant, all at once.  On many occasions Isaiah was not only knocking on death's door, but about to break the door down.  And we prayed.  We prayed many times for Isaiah, sometimes at a loss for how to pray.  It seemed at many times that his pain was unbearable so we pondered the possibility of God  taking him home.  Those were tough days.

Isaiah lived.  He has beaten so many odds, and every day is a gift.  There was a time when I would see Isaiah and I would squeeze him tightly, praising God for this very visible miracle among us.  But I guess the new wore off, and I just take it for granted that Isaiah is part of our lives and spending the night with friends and going swimming.

In that casual moment of experiencing a child's laughter I was reminded of God's goodness.  Of how he has showered me with so much blessing, working miracles right before my eyes.  My life, my family... so many, many blessings I take for granted --- like the miraculous presence of a child who will forever occupy a place in my heart.

The book in our Bible called Lamentations is written by the prophet Jeremiah, often called the "weeping prophet."  The book is a lament on the condition of God's people and the overwhelming desolation of their land and city.  However, in the midst of his lament come these encouraging words.

Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.   Lamentations 3:22-23 

I almost wonder if Jeremiah looked up from his papyrus to see a child laughing at play, and it made him realize that even in the midst of a deluge of lament, God rains down abundant blessing.  And sometimes when it rains... it pours.