"Miracles should not be regarded as deviations from the ordinary course of nature so much as manifestations of divine or spiritual power."
I've thought about that a lot over the past few weeks. And understanding that, I've seen miracles, many in the divine power that God has put into his creations.
One such miracle is the skin on the back of my left hand. And because pink, new skin is very visible, it reminds me often to be aware of miracles. Miracles that are not necessarily a deviation from the ordinary course of nature but a manifestation of divine power. I believe that all healing is an example of that--because nature alone would cause things to just die, but through the power of Christ's Atonement things have new life. So, my hand. Several weeks ago I was making toast in the office, with the broiler. And I did something my mother has often told me not to, I reached into the oven (instead of pulling the rack out) to flip the toast. Well, my hand hit the element. For a slight fraction of a second, but it was on broil and it broiled my hand. the brown, toasted look immediately spread to cover about 2" wide circle. Before it could hurt I stuck it under water. Water from this spout was so cold that after I'd held my hand there for 3-4 minutes, my hand was numb for over 40 minutes. By that time I'd packed up my laundry and driven to Pam's. When the pain finally started hitting (not excruciating, but still pain) I was at her house and she had sprayed it with a burn spray that had pain killer and aloe in it. I used that a few times in the afternoon and never really had any problem. The most uncomfortable of what looked like a nasty burn actually came a week or so later as it started to heal and itched. Slowly but surely the burn skinned came off and pretty pink, new skin replaced it. Now I have no scar, only a tiny patch of pink were the deepest burn was. Miracle.
Another example of these miracles came with my car. Trying to get it to start again was like a fun science experiment. And science seems to always be a great manifestation of divine power. First, I was trying to figure out why exactly it wasn't starting. Roland told me some tricks to try with alcohol (if the reason it wasn't starting was water in the gas, which water had frozen, then I just needed to wait for water to thaw or evaporate water and not have to take it to mechanic). Well, following Roland's instructions, I put used alcohol to evaporate water and get the car to rev up more than it had been, so I knew that lack of gas was the problem (I realize that my description may not make sense, but if you ever need help, call me and I'll explain). It was really quite fun!
The next part was Father's physics lessons. I assumed that when the temperature got above freezing, my car would be good. Not so, Father told me. "It's a matter of physics." It takes a lot of energy to turn a solid to a liquid. Hmmm, I think I remember that from somewhere back in my education. He said the best bet was to get my car in direct sun as long as possible, so it could get maximum energy and would stand the best chance of melting. On Monday morning I watched my car and thought about that. I already knew that it's position on the north side of the building gave it very few hours of direct light. It was a beautiful, sunny day. Clear blue sky, bright sunshine. Forecast had said it would overcast, but no. I felt it was an answer to a prayer, but my car wasn't getting the full effect. After praying again, I thought for awhile about how faith requires action and miracles require us demonstrating our faith. So, I called my visiting teacher and she and her mom came and they helped me push my car the 15 feet across the way, to be in the sunshine. A few hours later, the power of the sunshine had melted the ice and my car started. I truly believe that this was a miracle--not a deviation from the ordinary course of nature, but God's power, so abundantly manifest in nature, reaching down to help me. I felt that again on Tuesday, the day forcasted to be sunny and bright; it was overcast for hours.
One such miracle is the skin on the back of my left hand. And because pink, new skin is very visible, it reminds me often to be aware of miracles. Miracles that are not necessarily a deviation from the ordinary course of nature but a manifestation of divine power. I believe that all healing is an example of that--because nature alone would cause things to just die, but through the power of Christ's Atonement things have new life. So, my hand. Several weeks ago I was making toast in the office, with the broiler. And I did something my mother has often told me not to, I reached into the oven (instead of pulling the rack out) to flip the toast. Well, my hand hit the element. For a slight fraction of a second, but it was on broil and it broiled my hand. the brown, toasted look immediately spread to cover about 2" wide circle. Before it could hurt I stuck it under water. Water from this spout was so cold that after I'd held my hand there for 3-4 minutes, my hand was numb for over 40 minutes. By that time I'd packed up my laundry and driven to Pam's. When the pain finally started hitting (not excruciating, but still pain) I was at her house and she had sprayed it with a burn spray that had pain killer and aloe in it. I used that a few times in the afternoon and never really had any problem. The most uncomfortable of what looked like a nasty burn actually came a week or so later as it started to heal and itched. Slowly but surely the burn skinned came off and pretty pink, new skin replaced it. Now I have no scar, only a tiny patch of pink were the deepest burn was. Miracle.
Another example of these miracles came with my car. Trying to get it to start again was like a fun science experiment. And science seems to always be a great manifestation of divine power. First, I was trying to figure out why exactly it wasn't starting. Roland told me some tricks to try with alcohol (if the reason it wasn't starting was water in the gas, which water had frozen, then I just needed to wait for water to thaw or evaporate water and not have to take it to mechanic). Well, following Roland's instructions, I put used alcohol to evaporate water and get the car to rev up more than it had been, so I knew that lack of gas was the problem (I realize that my description may not make sense, but if you ever need help, call me and I'll explain). It was really quite fun!
The next part was Father's physics lessons. I assumed that when the temperature got above freezing, my car would be good. Not so, Father told me. "It's a matter of physics." It takes a lot of energy to turn a solid to a liquid. Hmmm, I think I remember that from somewhere back in my education. He said the best bet was to get my car in direct sun as long as possible, so it could get maximum energy and would stand the best chance of melting. On Monday morning I watched my car and thought about that. I already knew that it's position on the north side of the building gave it very few hours of direct light. It was a beautiful, sunny day. Clear blue sky, bright sunshine. Forecast had said it would overcast, but no. I felt it was an answer to a prayer, but my car wasn't getting the full effect. After praying again, I thought for awhile about how faith requires action and miracles require us demonstrating our faith. So, I called my visiting teacher and she and her mom came and they helped me push my car the 15 feet across the way, to be in the sunshine. A few hours later, the power of the sunshine had melted the ice and my car started. I truly believe that this was a miracle--not a deviation from the ordinary course of nature, but God's power, so abundantly manifest in nature, reaching down to help me. I felt that again on Tuesday, the day forcasted to be sunny and bright; it was overcast for hours.
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