Miracles

A few nights ago I found myself in a rare cleaning frenzy. As I cleaned, I listened to this talk on Miracles by Elder Dallin H. Oaks. For those who are interested, this is the BYU website where I get all the talks/firesides/devotionals I enjoy listening to.

As I listened to this fireside on miracles, I was reminded of some miracles that have happened in my life. I definitely believe miracles can and do happen and I have witnessed some myself. I thought I would share a couple of these miracles.

Elder Oaks actually shared a miracle that happened to one of my ancestors - my great-great-grandpa John Alexander Nelson. I have a pretty awful memory for details, so I'm quoting Elder Oaks here to get it right: "We do not usually speak of spiritual gifts as a miracle, but sometimes the effect of a spiritual gift is miraculous. For example, many missionaries who must learn a new language are blessed with the gift of tongues. Most often this gift merely accelerates the normal process of learning, but sometimes its effect is so immediate that it can only be called a miracle. A young mission president experienced this in the South Pacific in 1913. John Alexander Nelson Jr. spoke Samoan but not Tongan. When he arrived for an assignment in Tonga, he found that he had been scheduled to speak to a congregation of 300 Wesleyan Methodists. He began in faith by speaking a few sentences of greeting he knew in the Tongan language, and then suddenly found himself continuing to speak in Tongan. He spoke without hesitation for nearly an hour 'as fluently as any native.'"

When I was in high school, my family and I took a couple of trips to Thailand to help in some orphanages there. Before we went, we planned for months by gathering toys, educational equipment, blankets, etc. to take to these children who had almost nothing to call their own. It was such a humbling experience to serve them and to see their immense gratitude. On one of these trips, my amazing mother had orchestrated a carnival to be held on a Thursday. We would have stations the kids could rotate through, doing educational activities, arts and crafts, and even basketball because a friend of a friend had donated a full-size basketball hoop for these children. Well, it was raining that entire week. And when you're talking about rain in Thailand, you're not talking about a little sprinkle. We prayed and prayed that by Thursday we could have beautiful weather for this carnival. Well, we woke up Thursday morning to beautiful blue skies without a cloud in sight. The carnival was a hit and the kids had a wonderful time. Within minutes of the end of the carnival, the heavens opened up and it was pouring rain again! We were so grateful to our Heavenly Father for letting us hold this carnival for these children.

We had another miracle at the start of this trip. We had flown from Salt Lake to L.A. and we were preparing to go through customs. It was at this time, as my parents were looking through the passports, that my parents realized that my sister Sienna's passport was expired. With all the other preparations that had happened for this trip, this one detail had been overlooked. My parents began talking about contingency plans - having my mom and sister call up friends in the area to stay with until they could get the issue resolved - but in the meantime they were also silently and sincerely praying. As we waited in line, my parents observed that the employee checking the passports was extremely meticulous in checking every passport, so they figured there was no chance we'd make it through. Well, right as our group got up to the booth to hand over our passports, a new employee came and switched places with the meticulous one. This new employee glanced through a few, but he punched the right stamp in every passport and sent us on our way. We were grateful to not have our plans delayed. As soon as we arrived in Thailand, my parents took Sienna and got the passport renewed. =)

I do know that miracles happen. They don't always happen when we want them to; as the scriptures say, such things will happen "in [the Lord's] own time, and in his own way" D&C 88:68. But I am grateful for the times in my life when I have been able to see the hand of God blessing me and my family.