Two Miracles in One Day

Today I experienced two miracles right from the hand of God. The first was less significant than the second, but to a pregnant woman it was pretty important.

I left as early as I could this morning to get to the Department of Licensing to get the address changed on my driver's license. Matt told me he thought this would also get me registered to vote in my new voting district, too. I figured I'd better bite the bullet and get it done before the baby comes.

I had just gotten my license renewed before my birthday in January. I was in and out so fast that I didn't even have time to put on a little lipstick before my photo was taken. I naively thought I wouldn't have to wait more than 20 minutes or so this time. I took Paul and Joel with me, knowing they could handle a short wait time.

Well, when I drove into the parking lot, there must have been fifty people waiting in line outside for the doors to open. I thought, "I'm not going to do this today," but I decided to call Matt before leaving the parking lot. He confirmed that for some reason the office opened at 9:30 a.m. on Thursdays, instead of the usual 8:30 a.m. He suggested I wait five more minutes for them to open and see how long the wait would be. I waited at the back of what was now about sixty people to get my chance to grab my number (#48).

The boys and I found two empty seats and waited. "Now serving number seven at counter number eight." We waited fifteen more minutes. "Now serving number eight at counter number three." Joel was already getting fidgety and at that rate, I knew I wouldn't be able to wait it out. We left to go get the van washed.

The car wash took quite a long time as I had them vacuum the inside, too. They took the time to do a very thorough job as they weren't particularly busy, which extended the time even more.
I had purchased suckers for the boys and Joel had reached the Tootsie roll center by the time the van was done. I let him finish and then cleaned him up before putting him in the van. I called Matt before we left to let him know I'd given up at the DMV. He looked up the waiting period online and said it was one hour. "If you get back there right now, you might make it."

I didn't break any traffic laws getting back there, but as soon as we piled out of the van, I grabbed Joel and we ran across the parking lot. Most people probably wouldn't call it "running," but I went as fast as my nine month pregnant body would carry me. I opened the door to the DMV and saw #48 up on the screen. I ran up the counter, but just before I reached it, the number switched to 50.

I breathlessly said to the woman behind the counter, "I was number 48, I was number 48!" She said, "O.K., what can I help you with?" I blurted out again, "I was number 48!" By this time I was shaking. "O.K., what can I help you with?" she asked again. When I realized she was actually going to let me stay there, I quickly told her what I needed. Five minutes later, the boys and I were out the door heading back to the van.

Now I would say that qualifies as a miracle. God knew this pregnant woman didn't want to have to face the DMV again, so He graciously allowed me to get business taken care of today.

The second miracle occurred upon my arrival home. Grace excitedly told me that when she and her two sisters were playing school, she had given them instructions to read for a while. Elizabeth picked up the first of the Box Car Children series and began to read it. To tell the truth, I didn't really believe Grace. So I asked Elizabeth, "What's that book about?" She proceeded to tell me in vivid detail about the first two chapters of the book. Let me tell you, after working with her on phonics for three years with very little progress, I could hardly believe my ears.

We've been working on her dyslexia exercises diligently and something must have finally clicked in her brain. I said, "Aren't you proud of yourself, Elizabeth!" If you know Elizabeth, she's an under-reactor. A little smile just barely turned up the edges of her mouth and she nodded her head in the affirmative. Wow! I almost cried, but I didn't want to lose it in front of all the kids. Yeah, God! God is good, all the time. Two miracles in one day. Pretty cool.