Miracles Do Happen Everyday

Below is a copy of an email my husband sent out to a few friends yesterday. He had quite the experience with our 9 year old son on a fast moving river. This email is especially meaningful to the friends he sent it to because just days ago we all sat around talking about miracles. Many thoughts were shared and the discussion was thought provoking, indeed.

I hope you will read this and that your faith will be built and that you will see greatness in the smallest detail.

{FYI, some of the details are very ‘local’ but I left them in, didn’t want to tamper with his email. Don’t worry, will still make sense}.

Susan

Hi Friends,

I wanted to share something that happened today. It affirmed my belief in miracles big and small.

Gabriel and I decided to go rafting down the Elbow. We usually drop in at a quiet spot down by Glenmore Park and get out at Talisman centre. I did try rafting from where we live, but it is pretty hectic….branches…concrete blocks etc…but I figured my son (9) could handle it on his own.

The river was indeed looking fast moving, and I exercised very poor parental judgement and decided to do it SEPARATELY in little inflatables each, with an oar to push off against rocks and branches.

I put Gabriel in his inflatable and told him to use the oar to hold himself in place, because it was shallow. As I was getting into mine, gabriel lost the hold and started drifting away from me. He got stuck in the first branches, and freed himself, but couldn’t get to the middle of the flowing river and got stuck in the next set of branches over hanging into the river. He couldn’t get free, and water quickly poured into his boat, and flipped over onto him….I was still 10 metres away…and I jumped out of my boat. I couldn’t see Gabriel for a few seconds…my heart sank…..then he bolted out of the water..and I managed to drag him onto shore. Gabriel’s inflatable drifted downriver, but I was able to retrieve mine (it was upside down).

As Gabriel cried and I hugged him, he said “Daddy, where’s your bag?” I have a habit of keeping my car keys and phone in a zip loc bag when rafting (so I can call Susan to pick us up). I shrugged my shoulders, just happy that my son didn’t drown today. I was thanking God that he had a vest, that he didn’t stay stuck in those branches for another 10 seconds before I got to him(he would have most definitely drowned), and that I was able to pull him out in a shallow spot.

Since I couldn’t call Susan, and had no keys to drive home, Gabriel and I decided to walk home. We had walked only 5 minutes, when Susan pulled up in her car with the other two kids….she was trying to figure out what was happening…..”how was it?” she asked…..”Gabriel almost drowned today.” I said.

When we got home, I put the iPhone locator function on mobileme on……I had used it once before……wasn’t that hopeful, but I thought if the bag was still OK, the bag would be stuck somewhere downstream, inaccessible.

The locator said my phone was still nearby in the neighbourhood….I refreshed it 4-5 times…same….I assumed the system wasn’t working properly….but it said my phone was still online.

Susan and Gabriel had prayed that I would recover the bag on their car ride back. She encouraged me to head back down to the river….just in case. So I did.

I had to make my way through some brush to arrive at where we got back on shore. I looked around…..the water was rushing very fast. I walked through a sludgy crossing upstream to where Gabriel had gotten stuck in the branches. I walked up to the very branches, water churning violently at the branches…when something caught my eye…something shiny…..the tip of a plastic bag?…..stuck between the branches?

I knelt down, reached down carefully…..it was a plastic bag! I pulled it out very carefully so I didn’t lose it…..and pulled out…..my ziploc bag, with a granola bar, car keys, $20, and my iPhone!!!!!! Had I waited another 5 minutes, I think the river would have washed it away.

I came home and showed Gabriel…..his eyes were incredulous….and we all shouted “It’s a miracle!”

Lesson 1.
Don’t put your 9 yr old son into a rushing river with known dangerous obstacles.

Lesson 2.
Don’t assume that you WON’T end up in the water and lose your possessions.

Lesson 3.
Never underestimate a supremely gracious God.

It has been a great point of faith for our family today. That Gabriel was uninjured, despite my stupidity, and that God, cares about the little things too.

Be encouraged.
Philip