Remembering Some "God Things"

          During the past few months we have experienced many "God Things" in our lives.  While there is always  a danger of living too much in the past, once in awhile it is good to reflect upon the many "God Things", or God sightings, that we have experienced during our lifetime.  And, for us there have been many.  This month is the 51st anniversary of one of those - actually maybe several of those - that we often recall and thank the Lord for.

          Nearing graduation I began to search for my first permanent teaching job.  We had married while I was still in college and several months after our wedding we found that my wife was pregnant.  So we unexpectedly lost her income, for in those days pregnant wives were not permitted to work once they started wearing maternity clothing.  As a result, we were forced to abandon our apartment and move in with my in-laws.  Several weeks before my graduation our first son was born.  And so there was some pressure to find a good job and a home for our family.

          I scheduled four interviews - Hershey High, Donegal High. Elizabethtown High and Penn Manor High - and all four offered me a job.  I had really wanted to teach at Elizabethtown since both my wife and I had lived there at one time and my father had taught at Elizabethtown College.  But the teaching schedule they offered me was not competitive with the others.  So eventually I chose Penn Manor.  And that was a "God Thing" because at that time I didn't know that this would be the beginning of 39 great years there.  At Penn Manor I experienced many special and unique opportunities.

          Then came the problem of finding a house in the Penn Manor area.  For several months we were unsuccessful and it was becoming very discouraging.  During the summer I was working near Millersville and traveling to be with my family in Sunbury most weekends.  A few weeks they were able to join me in Lititz and help search for a house.  Then one day we received a call concerning an apartment in an old farm house in Silver Springs.  We really didn't want to live there.  It wasn't close to work and was really in the country.  We almost passed it up but because of our need we did check it out.  That also was a "God Thing" and we spent our first few years there and still have many good memories.

          Then in August, a few days after we moved, I came home to our new location after a hard day of working at Cherry Hill Orchards.  I found our four-month old son was very ill and we needed to see a doctor.  We didn't yet have time to find a doctor but someone recommended a Dr. Bryson in nearby Landisville.  So we called and after telling him the symptoms, he agreed to see us immediately.  It only took him minutes after checking our son to call a surgeon and send us to the hospital.  About two hours later our son was on the operating table.  The surgeon later told us that they were able to catch the intestinal problem just in time, preventing the need to cut his intestine and possibly even saving his life.

          One of the special things that I remember about that night was going to bed, emotionally exhausted, and thinking about how close I came to losing my only son.  Then it hit me that God sent His only Son to this earth and allowed Him to die as the sacrifice for my sins.  The reality of this really impacted me like never before.

          We were told that our son's problem was intussusception, or the telescoping of the intestine.  Most doctors never see a case of this in their practice and would not recognize the symptoms immediately.  Dr. Bryson had only ever seen one such case in his years of practice ... his own daughter.  Wow!  I still marvel at this "God Thing" whenever I think about it. 
          Now since it was just August, my medical insurance at Penn Manor had not yet started, so we had absolutely no insurance to cover the costs of the emergency surgery.  But even though I was just a first year teacher, God provided extra income through coaching and tutoring jobs and we were quickly able to pay off all of those bills.
          From a new job in the right area, to a house in an unexpected location, to a doctor we didn't know but who had had the same experience, to surgery just in time, to jobs to pay the bills.  "God Things"?  Without a doubt.

          Reviewing the "God Things" that one has experienced over a lifetime can be a good thing.  It can remind us of our God who cares about us, especially during the times of challenge that are part of our life.  It reminds us of a faithful God who even knows our every breath.  Great is His faithfulness - in the past, in the present, and in the future.  Watch for those "God Things" in your life.