When I was a single career girl in 1968, I owned a red hard-top convertible Corvette and lived in an apartment with 3 friends on the near-north side of Chicago. Although it wasn’t a dangerous neighborhood, when walking home from distant parking spots we kept our eyes open.

One Sunday afternoon I arrived home briefly and just needed to run inside to pick up a few things before driving off again. Incredibly, there was an empty parking space right in front of our building. With the car so close, I figured I could safely leave the top down during my quick in-and-out.

But when I came back 10 minutes later, my Corvette was gone. It was difficult to believe someone had stolen it in so short a time in broad daylight, but they had. I filed a police report, but the officer said, “A Corvette? They’re chopped up within minutes. You’ll never see it again.”

Lo and behold, 4 days later, the police found it! The convertible top was still down, and it was parked in front of a gun factory with a “Now Hiring” sign out front. The police wouldn’t have noticed it except for the screwdriver sticking out of its ignition hole. The officers hid, waited for the driver, and nabbed him when he tried to get in the car.

I got my Corvette back with only minor damage and classified it as direct intervention from God. Because of his arrangement of circumstances, the impossible had happened.

Last month, the impossible happened again. This time it was Louisa’s 16 year old Honda Accord. She parked it outside her Chicago apartment after returning from work, and when she went back to it, it was gone. Wondering if she’d forgotten exactly where she’d parked, she asked friends to drive her up and down the streets, just to be sure. But it was nowhere.

She filed a police report, but the officer said, “They steal them for parts. We’ll probably find the empty shell abandoned under the el tracks in a day or two.”

Lo and behold, a week later Louisa got a call saying her car had been found, parked illegally in front of a fire plug. Police had it towed to an impound and told her where to pick it up.

“Is it damaged?” she said.

“We didn’t check.”

Incredibly, it was in perfect condition, even the ignition. Although the car’s contents were disheveled, nothing was missing except a five dollar bill. When Louisa called me with the good news she said, “It was God for sure.”

I agree.

Sometimes we feel distant from the Lord, as if he’s not hearing our prayers and has no concern for our needs. At other times we can’t get over his startling activity on our behalf. The trick is to think back to those times of his dramatic involvement during the moments when he seems distant.

True then?

True now.

“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings…” (Hebrews 10:22)