Sweet Sounds From Heaven

It had been raining for several days. Gloomy, overcast, steady rain. Sometimes, it rained harder with winds that blew sideways. Just seemed weird to last so long. This is Atlanta, not Seattle. She’s thinking, rain, rain go away, come again another day, but it did not. She called her home office to ask if she should go to work. Management sounded perturbed that she even asked. She was not trying to avoid work. It just seemed rather dangerous outside.

She went to the “L” shaped shopping center where her assignment was to open and maintain a fabric store. She was a lowly clerk and only employee. The shopping center was small with a grocery store on one end and a finance company on the other. The fabric store was situated in the arc of the shopping center. She’s still thinking, this weather is terrible. For people to come out in this weather, they’d have to be crazy. So she tuned in the radio and began her maintenance program. Straightening up would be the order of the day. Now, the radio is even questioning sanity of people who would venture out in the current weather, and asking people to please stay home, if possible . Evidently, management did not listen to the radio.

The store was all glass front with glass doors. The rain was going sideways again. This time, from inside the store it seemed as if she were in a big mixing bowl with rain whipping against the glass front with walloping, copious jolts of water and debris. She could hardly see through the glass at all, but it seemed as if she saw a car whipping across the parking lot. Oh my goodness! She strained and saw what seemed to be the roof of the grocery store whirling through the air towards the finance company. The radio had just announced that a tornado had touched down in Candler Shopping Center. Oh My Goodness! That’s Me, she’s thinking.

Her driver, who had just dropped her off less than an hour ago, also had the radio on and heard the same news. He made a “U” turn in the road and headed back toward Candler Shopping Center to retrieve his precious cargo. This all happened so quick, she did not have time to get scared. Over and done before anyone knew what was happening. Immediately inundated with emergency personnel and authority figures in uniform. They used her store as a satellite office, since it still had a roof. Amazing! She was relieved when her ride came and she went home, leaving the store keys and it’s contents in the hands of the police.

When she reflects on such matters, it occurs to her that she could have been the one who was killed, but she was not. Why did her roof remain when others blew away. She was not living for God. Only prayed when in danger. Someone else must have prayed for her. God had to have a right to intervene on her behalf. Yes, it’s true. God is still honoring prayers from years ago. Generations may come and go, but prayers remain.

Just want to take some time to thank all the people in my life who have and still do pray for me. People who always strived to show me Jesus. In my late teenage years when I was in College and Carla was in high school, we spent a good bit of time together. Slick would always ask God’s Blessing on our food. When he would finish, Carla and I would keep our heads bowed and eyes closed as if we had fallen asleep. We had not, we heard every word he said. When driving down Straight Branch, there was a big flat rock that stuck out of the mountain. On it was painted the words, “JESUS SAVES.” Slick would slow down to a crawl, he wanted to make sure Carla and I saw what it said. We would probably roll our eyes. Not any more.

It took more faith for me than it did for Carla. She was royalty, I was a rebel. Even before being crowned Home Coming Queen, she was royalty. Don’t think she ever got a spanking. I was a rebel from the womb. When I spent the night with her, before retiring, she would always read her Bible. I had my head stuck in a romance comic. We both finished reading about the same time. We just looked at each other and laughed. At least, she didn’t condemn me. I didn’t know enough to applaud her. I was still thinking about Ronnie and Veronica.

Thank you Slick for your prayers. Thank you Grandma Greer for your prayers. Thank you Grandma Hensley for your prayers. Thank you mama and daddy for your prayers. Thank you everyone who prayed for me and did not give up on me. Took real faith, but God had a plan and still does for me. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Your prayers kept me safe in unsafe situations, kept me going when the going got tough. Kept me from sinking when the sands beneath my feet were shifting.

When people pray, it gives God an avenue to work in someone else’s life. Can’t help but think about Peter in Luke 22:31,32. “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: BUT, I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Romans 8:34 says it this way: “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also maketh intercession for us.”

All this is wonderful, however God relies on people on the earth to touch Heaven. Remember Jesus was talking directly to Peter, face to face. Jesus is currently seated at the right hand of Almighty God and has left the Holy Spirit here on earth to get the job done. Hallelujah!! So thank you everyone who has ever taken a knee for me!!

Filed under: Miracle Moments