It was
a cold Sunday evening in December. The year was 2004 and I was lying in bed in
my bedroom on the second floor of the house recovering from ankle surgery. My
left foot had been damaged during a trip to the mountains the summer before.
This
was one of those LONG nights when the boredom and restlessness of lying around
on bedrest was starting to get to me.
And, because Cathy would soon be leaving for church for the evening
classes, it would be another LONG evening alone with my thoughts as the
children were also at church with the Youth Group.
Because
I had reconstruction surgery without screws or any mechanical device, I had to
be in a cast up to my knee from October thru March until my ankle was fully
healed. A portion of that time was spent lying in bed with my leg propped up.
I
passed the time on bedrest by playing guitar; which can be a challenge to do
while propped up in bed. Some of my time was spent watching TV or movies. I
remember one day when Cathy came home to find me watching a “Little House on
the Prairie” miniseries and asked me why…
I told
her that I appreciated the “Miracle on Ice” movie that she picked up for me;
BUT it was producing too much testosterone. “Little House on the Prairie” had a
calming effect on me.
Before
Cathy left for church she asked me if she could get me anything. I looked
around the room at responded with; “No, thank you.” So, she kissed me good-bye
and headed out the door.
No
sooner had she pulled out of the driveway, when the thought came to me that I
should have asked her to make some coffee. Without really thinking, I said to
God; “Dad, I really want coffee…I should have asked Cathy to make some before she
left” and let out a sigh and flipped through the channels on the TV…
About
twenty minutes later, I heard someone come in the rear door and start walking
on the first floor of our house! I stretched my body to listen for who it might
be and realized that both Cathy and the children were at church.
Thinking
that perhaps one of them had come back for something, I laid back on the
pillow. Immediately, I heard the person starting to walk up the wooden
staircase to the second floor!
Normally
I don’t get afraid of things that go bump in the dark but in my situation, I
felt very vulnerable knowing that I couldn’t really defend myself or flee.
As I
tried to calm myself down, a friend of one of my daughters poked her head in my
bedroom. She was carrying a tall cup of coffee and handed it to me saying; “My
dad said to bring it to you because you wanted it”.
I
asked her what she meant and she said; “My dad said the bring this to you; he’s
waiting in the car for me.” and left the room, went down the stairs, and
slammed the rear door as she made her way outside to join her parents.
Many
thoughts rushed my mind, including how did she get inside of a locked house?
(It turns out that she got a key from one of my children)
I
grabbed the directory to look up her parent’s phone number and called them. Her
mom answered the phone and told me that they had been on their way to church
and her husband stopped the car and said that he needed to pick up a cup of
coffee for me. When asked why he said that he didn’t know for sure.
I
shared what I had “prayed” to my Heavenly Father regarding wanting a cup of
coffee and to her it made sense; especially since the time her husband turned
the car around was roughly twenty minutes ago, somewhere around the same time
that I had “prayed” for a cup of coffee.
I will
admit that situations like this don’t prove that God exists or that He cares
for minor issues like me wanting a cup of coffee. After all, some skeptics
would argue, He has much bigger items to deal with than getting me a cup of
coffee.
Some
might feel as though I am foolish for believing that there is someone behind of
this; who made all of this. Someone who cares deeply for me and cares deeply
for even (seemly) insignificant items like getting me a cup of coffee.
Ok, I
will also admit that I would not make a great atheist; because I don’t have
enough faith. I think that it takes too much faith for me to believe that ALL
of this came from nowhere.
But
what if He did answer me? Perhaps God had heard and had answered my prayer.
Perhaps her husband had heard God speak to him since he instructed his daughter
to say; “My dad said to bring it to you because you wanted it”.
Either
way I had a good cup of coffee.
Either
way I thanked Him (and the family who sent the coffee over).
Either
way I was a little bit warmer on that cold Sunday evening in December.
“…those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” -Psalm 34:10
