Wishing for your own Thanksgiving Miracle or Christmas Miracle this holiday season? After all…this time of year does tend to be a time of miracles… But what if this holiday season you decided that rather than just wishing for your own miracle you were actually going to BE THE MIRACLE for someone else’s life instead?
Some say that God often answers prayers through other people and I believe that’s true. I’ve even seen that to be true in my own life. The first time I recall was when I was living away from home at college and the holidays were fast approaching. My parents were going through a difficult time financially this particular year and they’d let me know they wouldn’t be able to afford to fly me home to be with them that holiday. I was devastated. I had never been away from my family before at the holidays and just the thought of not being with them felt like more than I could bear. I was homesick beyond belief and feeling as lonely as could be.
I remember getting down on my knees by the side of my little twin bed in my college apartment and praying to God that He would help find a way to get me home to my family for the holidays. I prayed for that every night for a week…I was praying for God to give me a Christmas miracle.
I couldn’t hold in my tears of joy when my Mother called me a few days later to let me know that a neighbor had surprised them by buying a airplane ticket so I could fly home. That neighbor had no idea how much that plane ticket meant to me as a scared young girl who was missing her family like crazy. They had no idea that they were the method by which God had answered my prayers – that they were my Christmas miracle.
The example set by that neighbor taught me to recognize how important it is for each of us to look for ways that we can be a miracle in someone else’s life. Whether it’s by small and simple things like writing a hand written note of encouragement on a day someone is feeling at the end of their rope, or doing a big thing like purchasing a plane ticket for someone who is desperately needing to get home to see their family…or an obvious thing like giving someone a coat and gloves when they are stranded outside in the cold, or a not so obvious thing of providing a meal to a mother who is completely overwhelmed trying to care for her children…we just never know when the act of kindness we might give will serve as a desperately hoped for answer to prayer. We never know when our act of service will turn out to be someone’s miracle.
As we take a few days off to celebrate Thanksgiving with those we love may we each look for opportunities to be the miracle in someone else’s life.
Before I sign off for the holiday I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your time off with your families, eat loads of yummy turkey, heaps of mashed potatoes and gravy, and ridiculous amounts of pumpkin pie. And know that one of the things I am most thankful for this year is all of you! Thank you for being a part of my life and I look forward to being back with you again Sunday night. Until then…HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
~Amy Rees Anderson (author of the book “What Awesome Looks Like: How To Excel in Business & Life” )
