A New Phone & a Stolen Car Returned

In the fall of 1988, after a tragic and unforeseen event, I found myself alone and responsible to raise my two daughters, ages two and 12. I turned to the Lord and He drew closer to me than any human could ever have. In those days of great despair, the Lord became my best friend, husband, father to my kids, confidant, defender, provider and comforter.

(Isaiah 54:5,6) For thy Maker is thy husband; Jehovah of hosts is his name: and the Holy One of Israel is thy Redeemer; the God of the whole earth shall he be called. For Jehovah hath called thee as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even a wife of youth, when she is cast off, saith thy God.

With the constant care and direction from the Lord also came many miracles during this time of my life. As finances were very slim, I had to trust God for many of the very basic needs of life and He never failed me.

One of the miracles was how God returned my stolen car to me. During this time my sister-in-law and her two children had moved in with us to help share expenses as she too had found herself alone.

We had gone to the grocery store that evening and bought milk, diapers and a few other necessities. We then went to another store to see if we could find an inexpensive telephone as mine had quit working. We only had $10 left between us, and even though I had never seen a phone sold for that little amount before, I had a feeling we would be able to find one that we could afford. I knew that God said he would supply all our needs and this was a need. My oldest daughter had to baby-sit the younger children a little while each day and needed a telephone in case of an emergency. As it happened the store we went into was no longer going to carry telephones and had them at close-out prices. We were able to get a $50 telephone for $7.

While we were leaving the store and praising the Lord for supplying our need again, we looked into the parking lot and could not find my car. It was gone. When realization hit me that someone had stolen the car a miracle happened within me that is hard to explain. The best way I can describe it is an unbelievable joy and confidence rose up within me coming up from out of my belly. Like John 7:38 says: He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

An exciting expectation, I knew that I was about to see a miracle. God was going to either bring my car back to me, or He would provide us with another car with milk and food in it. It really didn't matter to me how He did it, we needed a car and we needed the groceries that were in the car. Praise God, we knew it was coming our way.

When the police came they put the description of the car over the police radio and officers in the area were looking for the car. The officer that responded to our call allowed us to ride around with him and look for the car for a while. He said he had never met anyone like us before in his life. He had responded to many calls like ours before, stolen vehicles and such, but never had anyone act the way we were acting. He could see that we were very happy and excited; we told him that we were going to see a miracle. We told him that the car was coming back or God would send us another one with the groceries in it. He was being very nice and patient with us. He also did not want to discourage us, but he said the chances were very slim we would be able to recover the car. I told him not to worry, that God had it under control.

I asked the officer what thieves did with the stolen cars. He said a lot of times they would break them down and sell them out as parts; they also could be used in a robbery before they are torn down. My sister-in-law and I immediately agreed together in prayer that the car belonged to the Lord and could not be used in any crime. I am sure the officer was thinking we were crazy by this time, but he seemed to be enjoying the change from the norm.

By this time the car had been missing for over an hour. The store where the car was taken was at the edge of town and at a fork in the road between two highways leading out of town. The car could have been in the next county and in another town by this time.

A call came in over the radio saying the car had been found and pulled over just a mile from the store. It was on one of the highways headed back towards the grocery store. It turns out it was a professional car thief with a long record of such crimes. When they were caught, they told the police officer that when they saw the baby car seat in the back seat, they had an over whelming desire and HAD to return the car.

Praise God the car was in perfect shape and the groceries were fine. The milk was as cold if it just came out of the refrigerator. The police officer knew he had just witnessed a miracle.

Yes, God WILL supply ALL our needs!

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