Little Miracles
22 March, 2015
"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles."
- Audrey Hepburn
Gosh, don't you just love her? Words of wisdom, friends. Out of those five witty expressions, I have a favorite. Contrary to what you think, it's not "I believe in pink," although it is quite prophetic. My favorite line, drumroll please:
I believe in miracles.
How many of us believe in miracles... I mean, REALLY believe? Sure, Jesus came 2,000 years ago and raised the dead and gave sight to the blind and food to the hungry, but that was crazy long ago. That kinda stuff doesn't still happen today, right?
I believe strongly in miracles. I believe in God's mighty presence in our lives, even when we can't feel Him, and I believe (if we look hard enough), He shows Himself on a regular basis. To close out this wonderful week, here's a cute little miracle I experienced last year:
My senior year at Pepperdine, our apartment complex hosted a baking competiton. The winner was slated to receive four Disneyland tickets, so as you can imagine, it was intense. With over 30 contestents, it seeemed the entire apartment complex was dead quiet all day, everyone holed up in their kitchens trying (and re-trying) to create the perfect recipe.
Peanut butter bars, cream puffs, lemon tarts, baked s'mores, nutella bites...
You name it, we had it. I, to be completely honest, was a bit of a cheater and ran to the local Ralph's grocer to buy red velvet cupcakes. I stuck oreo's into the frosting with toothpicks to look like Micky Mouse. Clever, I know.
A friend of mine, of whom came from a working-class family and had three younger siblings, told me she'd been praying the last few months for a way to take her brothers and sister to Disneyland, since she didn't have the resources to do so on her own. Once the competition was announced, she figured this was her chance. The competiton was on a Saturday at 1:00 PM, and my friend began baking early on Friday, wanting desperately to create the perfect chocolate bundt cake with lava frosting.
She tried once, and it crumbled into a mess when she flipped the cake out of the pan. She tried again, and the cake again crumbled. By Saturday morning, she was literally in tears, feeling broken and emotionally exhuasted. She had made the cake before, so why wasn't it working now? Praying once more, she asked God for a simple request: "God, I don't care about the tickets. Just please help me make the cake. Help me flip it with ease and perfection, without a crumb out of place." Trying once more, with her eyes closed and her heart heavy, the cake flipped, impeccably.
Bringing the cake to the judging table, my friend was overwhelmed with peace. Although she didn't think she'd win, she had baked a perfect cake. She was content and fulfilled, not needing to win the tickets to feel happy. The judges went around the table, scoring a) appearance b) taste & c) creativity.
Holding our breath, they announced third place - my roomate Julia's hot cocoa! They announced second place - chocolate strawberries from a girl living down the hall. Announcing first place, I glanced at my friend, knowing how important it would be for her to win. "And the winner is... Karla and her homemade bread!"
Bread? The winner of the baking competition made... bread? Looking around the room, we were all confused, but politely clapped as the winner explained the simple ingredients: flour, yeast, salt, butter...
"Well, alright then," I said, as I congratulated my roommate on her third place finish. All the bakers were then granted access to try whatever they wanted, and we had a grand time laughing and digging into our neighbor's masterpieces. Trying my friends' chocolate bundt cake and lava frosting, I told her I was sorry she didn't win, but that her cake was delicious. "It's no problem, it was fun to enter," she answered.
Cool Paige, she made a cake. Yeah, huge miracle...
That's not all, friends. The following week, my friend told me something unbelievable. The winner of the competiton, the baker of the plain-Jane homemade bread, had felt compelled to GIVE MY FRIEND all four tickets out of the blue. My friend, of whom is extremely strong in her faith, told me it all made sense: she was trying to win with her own strength, trying to use her own skills to win the competiton instead of just trusting in God's power.
Instead of a sugar-filled cake pop or fudge brownie winning the competiton, simple, basic, easy-peasy bread won, just as Jesus serves as the bread of life. God heard all those prayers she sent up, as He hears all our prayers, and He knew exactly how He'd give them to her, teaching her a lesson in the meantime. He wanted her to know He could handle the request without her help. My friend went on to wrap up the tickets and put them under her family's tree at Christmas-time.
A true Christmas miracle.
If there's anything bothering you, any hinderance in your life, anything you just can't shake, remember the words of Christ: "My strength is sufficient for you." Sure, miracles may not happen to us every second, but if you look close enough, they're all around. Just as my friend was given the tickets without her having to do a single thing, God has a plan for your life. Not because you have superpower baking skills or a cool car or 10,000 Insta-followers. He has a plan for you because you're His child, and a (true) parent cannot abandon their child, ever. Pray to Him, trust Him, and before you know it, your faith could land you in the Happiest Place on Earth.
