A Touch of Takiela: An Unexpected Miracle

Recently, I decided to spend some quality time with my teen daughter. We went to her favorite place, the mall. After a few hours of window shopping, talking, and giggling we were hungry. We ate at one of my favorite restaurants and I really felt the Lord telling me to hold back ten dollars. I wasn't sure why, but I obeyed Him. I only had fifteen dollars in cash on me so I tipped the waitress five dollars and paid for our meals with my check card. I stuck the remaining ten dollars in my pocket instead of my purse, again not sure why, but I was convinced that God was leading me.

My daughter and I headed home, however, the route that we normally take was blocked due to construction, therefore, we had to take an alternate route. On the ride home, like always, we had the music blaring while we shared an invisible microphone, singing at the top of our lungs. As we drove through an unfamiliar area we both noticed an older man walking down the street. It was cold and gloomy that day. His clothes were tattered and worn, he had on a light jacket that was too small, no hat, and socks on his hands.

I looked at my daughter who had turned the music down by then, and judging by her water filled eyes, I knew she saw the same thing I had just witnessed. Compelled to help him, she asked, "mom, I have a pair of gloves in my pocket, can I give them to him?" I smiled at her and said, "Of course."

I pulled in a Burger King parking lot that was in the direct line of the direction he was headed. My daughter and I waited for him to walk towards us. As he approached, my daughter and I got out the car. Although he walked in our direction he didn't notice us. He pulled one sock off his hand and extracted a few coins from the pocket of his dingy jeans. He counted the coins as he entered the Burger King parking lot, obviously hungry. However, his facial expression revealed that he didn't have enough money.

I knew immediately what God wanted me to do. "Excuse me sir," I said. He looked at us with a face hardened by his circumstances and snapped, "what do you want?" My daughter gave him the gloves and I gave him the ten dollars God told me to hang on to while I was at the restaurant. He stood frozen. "God hasn't forgotten about you," my daughter said. "He still loves you," I added. The man's eyes filled with tears and with trembling lips, he manged to say, "Thank you...God bless you."

My daughter and I cried and praised God the entire way home.
I simply wanted to spend some quality time with her but God wanted it to be a time neither of us will ever forget. So He decided to allow us to be apart of an unexpected miracle.

What unexpected miracle has God allowed you to witness?