Jan and the Quail

We have a friend Jan who recently passed away after a 2 year and 10 month trial with cancer. Hector went to see her just a few weeks before she passed. She and her husband had given him a job in their hardware store when he was 12 years old and he continued to work there until he graduated high school. Jerry and Jan taught Hector to work, to enjoy life and served as second parents. (We who raise children know that we can't do it alone and are tremendously grateful for those who play a positive role in our children's lives.)
Jan's influence reached far. She loved people and they loved her. She had a particular affinity for wildlife. When she went to her cabin at Eagle Lake all the elk would come and feed on the food she put out for them. The fox would come. Always they came a specified times of the day.
She loved birds particularly. She lived out in the outskirts of town where the quail and birds were her friends. She fed them regularly.

Jan's time to pass was close. Her breaths were long in coming and it was time. Jerry, the hospice caregiver and two close relatives were present. Jerry commented to the caregiver,"Jan loved her quail." The very second he said that the screen door slammed open and a little quail flew into the house directly over head as she lay in the hospital bed and landed behind the couch. They picked up the bird and held it close to her face and then Jerry took the quail outside. He did not want to fly away. Finally with a little coaxing he did fly away.


The interesting thing was that the deck outside the house was absolutely covered with all kinds of birds and quail. About five minutes later Jan took her last breath and  the birds her spirit took flight back home to the God who gave her life.

Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?and  one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

a simple--and quick answer

I had such a distinct answer to prayer this morning.Two days ago I  put some jewelry and crystals by my bed and I could not find them. I found the empty case. My big concern with the empty case came because yesterday three preschoolers had gone through every room of the house leaving  a wake of destruction in their path.  I could just picture them carrying off my somewhat valuable pieces anywhere-other bedrooms, bathrooms-heck they could have flushed them or even taken them out to the chicken coop.
It has never ceased to amaze me the amount of trouble cute litte pudgy hands can cause.   When the destruction is really bad I try to take a picture instead of crying because I was once told that time plus tragedy often equals humor.
On occasion I have pulled old pictures of destruction out, gallons of spilled paint, 25 pounds of flour spread all over...and  the pain is pretty much gone. I even can laugh-a little.
But I digress...
I have learned to stay calm when something is missing and simply picture it in my mind and send up a prayer. Now not everything shows up but today I simply said, "Heavenly Father, please help me find my things." The thought came into my mind. "Maybe Hector found them and put them in my jewelry drawer."
I jumped up, looked in the drawer and guess what was lying so peacefully on my velvet drawer lining.....the missing pieces.
I could only give that incredulous little laugh you give when something so amazing and divine shows up. The answer was so immediate and clear. I love moments like that.
Of course in my incredulous laughter I said, "Thank you, Thank you Thank you."

Remember "The miracle is often in the timing not in the event" Hugh Nibley--
I would have found those pieces at some point during the day, since I wear jewelry every day, but Heavenly Father was kind and gave me inspiration immediately and miracle of miracles I acted on the prompting.
All the best  Whitney

My First Post

This is my first blog post. I named this blog The Hand of God because I have an idea that there are small and large events in our everyday lives that are directly a result of the hand of God. These events can and often go completely unnoticed unless we are conscious of them and bring them to our attention and thank God for his tender mercies.
I read two books this summer written by two Jewish Women that I believe were entitled Small Miracles. 60 stories of little and big happenings in the lives of people that could only be counted as miracles.
I believe in miracles. I see miracles in my life and I think there is such a need for hope and recognition God in the dailiness of our lives.
My vision for this blog is to collect and publish small and simple OR large miracles which people encounter on their daily journey. I hope to collect stories from all over the world.
I found a quote a few days ago after a miracle of my own. Hugh Nibley, a religious scholar and historian said, "The miracle is not in the event, it is in the timing."

The timing-the timing-the timing. Think about the timing. The check that came at the right time, the keys that showed up miraculously, the prayers that were answered.
My own miracles this week-so far-my 17 yr old son sustained a shoulder injury in his first football game of the year. The injury is painful-but not extremely serious. No surgery necessary as I spent the night worrying he might have to face-having just gone through that with his father 9 months ago.
That same 17 year old has a job. Miracle of miracles. The thick stack of resumes on the manager's desk let him know his job is a miracle.

Every day I have food come in my door I am grateful.
The list goes on and on. I will add more daily and come back with some stories of other people.
Feel free to add your own stories.

My desire is to have inspiration for all in the world that is often not so inspiring.