Redeem the day

On Anna's birthday I prayed, "Lord, redeem this day."
To redeem means
...to buy back
...to free from what distresses
...to change for the better
...to convert into something of value
...to make worthwhile

I wanted May 29 to be free from distress.  I wanted it changed for the better.  I wanted it converted into something of value.  I wanted it to be made worthwhile.

That morning I listened to the song "Unredeemed".

"When anything that's shattered is laid before the Lord it will not be unredeemed... You never know the miracle the Father has in store.  Just watch and see.  It will not be unredeemed."

I prayed for a miracle.
Because there was no birthday breakfast, I fasted.
I toured the cemetery.
I had lunch at one of Anna's favorite restaurants.
I cooked dinner for the people at the Ronald McDonald House.
I played Anna's High/Low game.

The next day I wrote, What was the miracle?  
There were no big surprises.
There were no moments of great joy.
Perhaps it was a miracle that I didn't stay in bed all day.  Perhaps the miracle was that Jacob told his friends about Anna.  Perhaps God touched the heart of the tour guide when I told him why I was at the cemetery.  Perhaps the miracle happened after we dropped off the food and prayed for the people at the Ronald McDonald House.  Perhaps I can't always see the miracles God is doing.  

"The most beautiful lives are the outcome of anguish and tears [Ian and Larissa Murphy, Nick Vujicic, Lorraine Patterson, Patrice Williams, Jamie Spangler, Joni E. Tada, etc.]... The elevating and perfecting of character come largely through sorrow... I falter sometimes when I try to say, 'It is good for me that I have been afflicted.' [Ps. 119.71] But I can now and then catch a glimpse of the truth of it."                                                    (Mrs. C Cowman, Consolation)

Beauty from ashes.
That's the miracle.