Wednesday, October 15, 2008

~Braking For God~

The studio was in full-swing. It was a hot August day nine years ago, and the wholesale orders from the Atlanta Gift Show were piled high. The girls and I were filling trays of orders, and the boxes for UPS were stacked to the ceiling. Shops and catalogs wanted their orders ‘yesterday'. I was pretty organized and had ordered plenty of supplies before we headed into the mid-summer gift shows….so I thought. Then it happened: we ran out of a much-used jewelry finding. We needed 350 more to fill the orders we had. Thank goodness that the supplier was only an hour’s drive, so I decided, migraine or not, to drive there to pick them up.

The morning had started peacefully enough. I had my precious half-an-hour with a book and a cup of coffee. I was touched by a short story in a “Chicken Soup for the Soul-type’ book. You know the kind: short little inspirational quippets that let you savor a brief ‘ahhh…that’s nice’ moment before heading on your way. The story was about a woman who had been praying for some sign from God, as she was having a difficult time making an important decision. She was stumped.

That same day, she was sitting in a friend’s kitchen, sharing a cup of coffee, when she commented to her friend, that there was a beautiful red cardinal at her feeder. Without even bothering to turn her head, the friend told her that it was impossible. She only had thistle seed in her feeder, and had never seen a cardinal there. When she turned around, sure enough: a cardinal! The woman was certain that this was her sign from God. The answer to her prayers.

Hmmmm….I thought. I have been praying for help on a particular problem. I was begging God for some help. I think I’ll ask God to send ME a cardinal if I'm leaning in the right direction. No….they never came to MY feeder either. Thistle seed was the answer to feeding the birds in our yard without attracting the raccoons and squirrels that lived to taunt my puppies. So that would be a great sign. Yeah, right, I thought. And I continued on with my day.

I armed myself with an Imitrex (migraine medication) and a cold iced tea, put on the darkest sunglasses I had, seatbelted myself in….and headed down the driveway holding back the tears. How was I going to get on 271 and drive an hour each way with this raging headache? I was half-way up our short street when I slammed on the brakes. I couldn’t believe it. There he was. Sitting in the middle of the road, looking up at me. I mean that bird was STARING at me. He had swooped down right in front of me and stood standing on the asphalt. He was the reddest, most beautiful cardinal I have ever seen. Headache or not. And he wasn’t leaving anytime soon. We both stared. Locked in time.

Now I’ve gotten signs from God before. Lots of times. But not as blatant as this time…unless you want to count the time I met an angel in my kitchen in the middle of the night. But that's a story for another post!

I had shared my cardinal story with Mel, and it had touched her as deeply as it had touched me. And she remembered my long-ago encounter when she added the cardinal border to the beautiful Frosty pillow. Thank you, Mel. And thank you, God….for sending me cardinals in the oddest of moments…in the strangest of ways. You have my attention!

14 comments:

Ballerina Girl said...

Amazing story Carol...thank you for sharing.
I look forward to hearing the angel story too!
I will let you know about the dolls...haven't really decided just yet...thank you for sharing the fotos with me...
BG

beautifullybrokenme said...

I love this story Carol. I, too, look forward to the signs that God leaves for me, knowing that only I will know the meaning or importance of what they are. I love the personal touch He has for each and every one of us!

:-) Molly

Kat said...

Wow. He really works fast, doesn't he? That is an amazing story! I love it! Signs are every where.
I want to hear that angel story too! I love angel stories. :)

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my site and comment! :)

Lanyardlady said...

You have such wonderful stories! I could use a cardinal or two myself! Thanks fofr sharing.

Blondie ~ Vintage Primitives said...

I really enjoyed the Cardinal story. And I will pray right now that the Lord will give you the answer to your prayer. And yes, I do believe we have angels all around us - the Lord knew we would need all the help we can get.
Blessings to you
Blondie

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful story! I bet you get a warm, wonderful feeling everytime you see a cardinal. I'm going to watch for little signs today - I KNOW they're out there!

CIELO said...

thank YOU for sharing this story, Carol....our Heavenly Father does amazing things for us, doesn't HIm....

Hugs

cielo

Deb said...

Hi ~ What a wonderful story. I must remember to be mindful of moments so I don't miss the signs. Take care.

Anonymous said...

Hi Carol,
here in Germany we don´t have cardinals. Perhaps therefore i´m so fascinated by them. They are so gorgeous,looking like they have a secret. This bird is looking sooo real...can´t describe

Thank you very much for sharing,Caroline

Anonymous said...

That's a beautiful story, Carol. I always believe that if your request to God hasn't been answered it's simply because God feels it impossible to fulfil. He obviously had a good think on this one and decided you deserve it.

CJ xx

Molly said...

Please tell the angel story!!! I love inspirational stories. Isn't it amazing how God shows up at the craziest times in our life?. Have a wonderful weekend!!!!
~ Molly P

Molly said...

Oh I forgot to mention in my last comment that Cardinals were my granny's favorite bird and when my appendix ruptured 6 months ago there were 2 of them on my front porch when I came home from hospital. I think they were God and my granny welcoming me home. Have an awesome weekend!!!
~ Molly P

Lemon Shortbread said...

What a lovely inspirational post, and God always answers prayer may it be a yes, no or wait (though we tend to neglect that 'wait' is also an answer)! The cardinal is such a beautiful bird!

Woman in a Window said...

Looking forward to that next story! Angels in kitchens...was she hungry?