Category Archives: God’s plans for us

Heroes are made by God.

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The beach pathJack and I walked to the beach today, or I should say we tried. With all the snow and subsequent plowing, the path down to the shore had become completely impassable, unless of course I wanted to trudge through neck-high drifts with snow-filled boots. Even Jack couldn’t navigate the depth, struggling first to get into it, then to get out.

Lake Michigan was frozen white as far as I could see, and it’ll be months before that icy water becomes swimmable. No one would jump into frozen water like that with the possible exception of the Polar Bear Club. Certainly even they wouldn’t venture where their feet couldn’t touch bottom, since hypothermia can be quick and deadly. Yet last week in Chicago, a man found himself thrashing in deep, ice-filled Lake Michigan water with little hope of survival.

It all started with a routine dog-walking event, the man and his 3 standard poodles. One of them, off a leash, ran around a 10 foot sea-wall at the Monroe Street Harbor, ending up on the ice. Immediately he broke through and was unable to get out, so his owner jumped in after him.

Quickly realizing he’d miscalculated, the man screamed for help, and the other two dogs began barking atop the sea-wall. A lone cross country skier heard the distant commotion and immediately dialed 911. The man and his dog were weakening fast, though, and both seemed doomed.

Enter God…. who brought along our former next door neighbor.

Adam DominikAdam Dominik, physically fit as an experienced climber, was jogging in that remote place near the empty harbor for the very first time. He heard the man’s cries and ran over to find a face peeking out of the broken ice and a dog tangled up with him.

Adam knew the man couldn’t last much longer but stayed calm. He noticed a yellow nylon rope stuck to a nearby sign, just the right length and strength to be of help. That morning he’d been practicing knots used in climbing and had mastered something called the Figure 8, strong enough to pull a man and his wet clothes from the water.

Icy poodleAdam said, “At first I threw the rope over him but the dog was kind of pulling on him with his weight, pushing him under the water. He kept saying, ‘Save the dog first!’ I kept saying, ‘No, we’re going to save your life first and then the dog; your life is more important,’ but he insisted on pulling up the dog first.”

Then at a crucial moment, when Adam had the dog out and the man half way up the sea-wall, the 911 team arrived to finish the rescue. (View the 1 minute NBC news video below.)

Jogger-Rescues-Man-Dog-From-Montrose-Harbor-243596711

So, how was God involved? Tomorrow we’ll find out.

“Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from the deep waters. Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up.” (Psalm 69:14-15)

Family Relationships

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A while ago a good friend from the Chicago suburbs drove the 110 miles between us to spend the day with me. Maria and I used to pray together weekly before our family moved to Michigan, and we know each other well. After all those years of praying over family members, we know each others families pretty well, too.

Family b-daysWhen Maria came, she brought a unique gift: a wall hanging representing the importance of family. Somehow she researched all the birth dates of my children and grandchildren, and then hand-made a beautiful work of art that included every name and the day they were born.

I hung this masterpiece near our dining table where it has frequently been scrutinized and also has stimulated many a conversation. And just two weeks ago I had the joy of hooking a brand new circle onto the January line with baby Isaac’s name and date on it.

FAMILYOnly God knows which row(s) will be lengthened by how many additional circles in our family’s future. Maybe he’ll decide to hang circles from our “blank” birthday months (March, November, December). But it’s possible Maria’s display is complete just the way it is. None of us can predict.

 

When I look at this work of art, I’m impacted by the importance of those circles. Except for Jack the dog (who’s there too), each paper disk represents a human soul that will live throughout eternity. And each one of them has to decide what they want to live for and what, if anything, is worth dying for. Each name has to settle on whether or not they believe in God and then determine which of the many gods available for worship these days is the real One.

But just like those small circles are separated from one another, each individual is seen and known separately by God. He has special plans for every name on the wall and a desire to shower each one with blessings. He has also prepared a few difficult challenges for each name.

God chose that particular group of people to be in the Nyman family, and he wants all of us to relate to one another lovingly. Though we don’t always do that, he wants us to work at getting along, looking out for each other, and sharing what we have with whomever is in need. God wants the Nyman family (and every other earthly family) to be models of his spiritual family in these same ways. Earthly families are to be a mini-version of the Great Family of God, relating to one another with sacrificial attitudes and tough, unshakeable love.

Gettin' alongOf course no family can act that way all the time, but we can do it some of the time, and when we do, our relationships will strengthen and our joys abound. That goes for earthly families like the one on my wall, and for God’s much bigger family, too.

I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.” (Ephesians 3:14-15)

Coincidence?

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Bathtub drainToday I was the recipient of a personal touch from God.

I began as I always do, by filling the bathtub, but after sealing the drain and letting the water fill 2”, I noticed a grit across the bottom as if the bather ahead of me had stepped in with sandy feet. So I flipped the lever to let it drain, but it was a slow-go. This drain has been clogged for many weeks and by this time was down to a trickle. Waiting impatiently because I had a morning appointment, I looked at the clock to see how late I would be.

Those 2” of water took 9 long, annoying minutes to drain, reminding me I couldn’t put off calling a plumber much longer. Finally I filled the tub, planning to return later to rinse the soap scum away.

But when I had finished my bath and flipped the lever to open the drain, something incredible happened. The deep water in that tub whooshed out with force. Minutes earlier it had only trickled, but suddenly 13” of water was gone in 2 minutes!

Swirling drainI would have labeled it “just a lucky break” if it hadn’t been for one important factor. I share this with you, blog readers, knowing that “going public” might negate something valuable, but here goes.

In recent months I’ve been praying with passion about a stubborn problem that’s remained unchanged, and recently God reminded me that occasionally we should couple our prayers with fasting. Though I have little understanding of how fasting works, Scripture tells us two things: (1) the Lord sanctions fasting, and (2) it adds power to our prayers.

FastingThough the Bible says we’re to keep our fasts private, I’m sharing this story for one reason: to testify to what God did. These many months my specific prayer request has been for the Holy Spirit to “unclog” the thinking of a certain person, asking for a “breakthrough”. Then I committed to a one day fast, and on that very day an unexplainable rush of water “broke through” a “clogged” drain.

Coincidence?

I think God wants us to continually watch for him. He’s working all around us, and to catch a glimpse of him is a spiritual high like no other. Though I risk losing the benefit of my fast by way of this post, I can’t keep quiet about God and his ever-present activity. As a result of this morning’s whoosh of water, I believe he’s going to specifically answer my requests. I don’t know when or how, but you can be sure I’ll be carefully watching for him.

“Pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance.” (Ephesians 6:18)