Monday Miracle
Last week, I stumbled onto a blog with the heading "Monday Miracle". (I can't seem to find it now either) After reading about several of them I posted some comments and said that I would post today about a miracle that happened to us about 10 years ago. Life itself is a miracle but this concerned something that happened to our son Sean. When I said I would post about this on THIS particular Monday, I didn't even realize at the time that today is Sean's birthday. Talk about a timely post, he turned 11 today.
Like I said, life itself is a miracle and we see miracles all around us but sometimes things happen that make us just stop and think. Sean has always been a wonder and he is defiantly responsible for many of the grey hairs I have today. He is the kindest most considerate child I know but he has a way of getting into trouble that would make a saint want to curse. Also one of the reasons he gets into trouble is because he is very smart. He is able to figure things out so normal parental defenses just don’t work with him.
There was the time he got away from us on the river boat at Disney World and hid laughing as I frantically screamed his name. I know I looked like an idiot. He was only playing but I almost died from fright thinking about all that could happen. There was also the time I went a few houses down the street and returned to find him on the roof of my shed. He was only a few years old. There he was waiving to me as I pulled in the driveway. But neither of these things compared to what happened when he was only one year old.
It was a warm spring afternoon. There was a storm brewing and the sky was dark and eerie looking. The wind was gusting and the trees were swaying back and forth. As I pulled in the drive, I saw my family running into the house just as a large bolt of lightning hit a nearby tree. It was close enough that I felt the static electricity in the air. It wasn’t raining though because like many storms in our area they stop at the river and we either only get a brief shower or nothing at all. It was close enough to send lightening into our area but we never did get any rain.
I grabbed my things and quickly ran into the house just as another bolt of lightning hit the ground. I closed the door with my foot because my hands were full and I headed for the kitchen counter to unload. Sean was in the living room as I passed though and as usual greeted me with a smile. As soon as I put the things down, I returned and locked the door to keep Sean inside. He was a fast child and even though he had just learned to walk, we had to keep the door locked to keep him inside. After locking the door, I returned to the kitchen to put my things away. Sean had gone into the bathroom where my wife was busy folding laundry that she had just taken off the line. Or so I though.
After about 10 minutes, I called to my wife and said: “Sean sure is quiet, Is he helping you fold clothes?” She replied: “Sean isn’t in here. Isn’t he with you?” No I said, so I set out to find him. I checked his bedroom and he wasn’t there. Next I checked our bedroom and he wasn’t there either. I began to panic as I checked out each room more carefully. I was running now and my wife had joined in the search. Sean was nowhere to be found. The door was locked so he had to be inside somewhere. I had only been left unlocked for about 15 seconds when I first came home. He couldn’t possibly have gotten out that fast could he? With panic in our hearts, we both ran for the door.
It wasn’t the fact that the road we live on is a busy one or the fact that it was still lightning that had us afraid. What we were both thinking was about our pool and the fact that in everyone’s haste to get inside, no one had locked the gate. As soon as we got outside, we heard Sean crying. There he stood on the deck, soaking wet, about 10 feet from the pool. He had made it to the pool and fell in. That part didn’t surprise us. What did was how he got out. He had only recently learned to walk and couldn’t swim. The pool was way over his head and from the water marks showing where he fell in, he would have had to swim several feet to even get to the ladder. Even if he made it to the ladder, the rungs were way too far apart for him to climb out. But somehow he did make it out.
I am convinced that a miracle happened that day and there was some Devine intervention which got him out. I still get shivers when I think about it and know in my heart that God was watching over him.
Happy Birthday Sean!
Have a great day,
Greg
PS, this is a picture he painted. We love it so much we hung it in our living room.
Like I said, life itself is a miracle and we see miracles all around us but sometimes things happen that make us just stop and think. Sean has always been a wonder and he is defiantly responsible for many of the grey hairs I have today. He is the kindest most considerate child I know but he has a way of getting into trouble that would make a saint want to curse. Also one of the reasons he gets into trouble is because he is very smart. He is able to figure things out so normal parental defenses just don’t work with him.
There was the time he got away from us on the river boat at Disney World and hid laughing as I frantically screamed his name. I know I looked like an idiot. He was only playing but I almost died from fright thinking about all that could happen. There was also the time I went a few houses down the street and returned to find him on the roof of my shed. He was only a few years old. There he was waiving to me as I pulled in the driveway. But neither of these things compared to what happened when he was only one year old.
It was a warm spring afternoon. There was a storm brewing and the sky was dark and eerie looking. The wind was gusting and the trees were swaying back and forth. As I pulled in the drive, I saw my family running into the house just as a large bolt of lightning hit a nearby tree. It was close enough that I felt the static electricity in the air. It wasn’t raining though because like many storms in our area they stop at the river and we either only get a brief shower or nothing at all. It was close enough to send lightening into our area but we never did get any rain.
I grabbed my things and quickly ran into the house just as another bolt of lightning hit the ground. I closed the door with my foot because my hands were full and I headed for the kitchen counter to unload. Sean was in the living room as I passed though and as usual greeted me with a smile. As soon as I put the things down, I returned and locked the door to keep Sean inside. He was a fast child and even though he had just learned to walk, we had to keep the door locked to keep him inside. After locking the door, I returned to the kitchen to put my things away. Sean had gone into the bathroom where my wife was busy folding laundry that she had just taken off the line. Or so I though.
After about 10 minutes, I called to my wife and said: “Sean sure is quiet, Is he helping you fold clothes?” She replied: “Sean isn’t in here. Isn’t he with you?” No I said, so I set out to find him. I checked his bedroom and he wasn’t there. Next I checked our bedroom and he wasn’t there either. I began to panic as I checked out each room more carefully. I was running now and my wife had joined in the search. Sean was nowhere to be found. The door was locked so he had to be inside somewhere. I had only been left unlocked for about 15 seconds when I first came home. He couldn’t possibly have gotten out that fast could he? With panic in our hearts, we both ran for the door.
It wasn’t the fact that the road we live on is a busy one or the fact that it was still lightning that had us afraid. What we were both thinking was about our pool and the fact that in everyone’s haste to get inside, no one had locked the gate. As soon as we got outside, we heard Sean crying. There he stood on the deck, soaking wet, about 10 feet from the pool. He had made it to the pool and fell in. That part didn’t surprise us. What did was how he got out. He had only recently learned to walk and couldn’t swim. The pool was way over his head and from the water marks showing where he fell in, he would have had to swim several feet to even get to the ladder. Even if he made it to the ladder, the rungs were way too far apart for him to climb out. But somehow he did make it out.
I am convinced that a miracle happened that day and there was some Devine intervention which got him out. I still get shivers when I think about it and know in my heart that God was watching over him.
Happy Birthday Sean!
Have a great day,
Greg
PS, this is a picture he painted. We love it so much we hung it in our living room.
Comments
And what a cute kid!
His painting is awesome by the way.....I want one :-)
Happy Birthday Shaun, you rascal :)
Thanks for sharing how God truly watches over us and has a plan for each.
Happy Birth Sean -- I have a grandson you age - it's a good age!
Lovely story of the miracle that was. God sends HIs angels.
i like the way you writte your posts Greg.
Tell him the painting is lovely. Does he still paint?
Have you ever read Izzy's story? It is a lot like yours only the result was different. You can find it at: http://mylifeasannie.com/izzys-story/