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Our church has been in the midst of a series called Miracles. It never ceases to amaze me how often sermons line up exactly with what’s happening in my life. It probably shouldn’t surprise me, but I guess I forget how powerful and omniscient God is.

When my aunt Marianne called me and told me Oma was ailing and she wasn’t sure if Oma would make it through the night, I sort of froze. I felt so overwhelmed I didn’t know what to do. Talking with my sister didn’t really help because she felt the same way. Should we go to Germany? Do we really jump on a plane right now and travel to the other side of the world? Can we even make it in time?

Those were only the beginning of the questions and obstacles. For some reason Miriam and I felt so paralyzed and unsure of what to do. Thank the Lord for clear-headed husbands. Neither her hubby nor mine ever wavered in their decision. “You need to go. Don’t worry about us.” We both heard that numerous times before it finally sunk in and we knew we had to take a step towards getting to Germany.

I look back on all we had to push through and all the obstacles we had to overcome and it really was nothing short of a miracle that we made it at all. There were many ‘little’ miracles in a very short amount of time. First, can we even get tickets and a rental car in such short notice. Turned out we could. And because of our stress paralysis we actually saved over $800 on tickets! For some unexplainable reason tickets went from $1400 one day to $600 the next morning. Well, I guess I can explain it! It was obviously God opening a door.

Miriam couldn’t fly without all her diabetic pump supplies. They are always supposed to come next day and she hadn’t gotten a notification that they had been shipped. Thankfully somehow or another they showed up the afternoon before we were flying out.

A big miracle occurred when I started asking around for donated breast milk. Leaving a six month old nursing baby behind was just a bit of a stress for me. And because he has a sensitive tummy I didn’t want to put him on formula and then leave him to be miserable. A friend has just happened to have had a conversation with her pastor’s wife about her daughter and freezer full of breast milk she had just days before I put out the request. She was happy to donate a week’s worth of milk for Lukas, relieving this mama’s worry. I had offers of milk from all over the cities and even as far away as Colorado! Thank you, Jesus!

In the midst of anytime of life, it’s hard as a mom to just pick up and leave spontaneously. But in the middle of the school year, with classes, activities, swim lessons, art lessons, you name it, it’s just about impossible. And yet, somehow everything fell into place. My sister left her four and I left my ten. Our amazing husbands drove us to the airport in the wee hours of the morning, long before the sun was up or the kids were awake.

In every move, in every minute of those two days God was opening doors and removing obstacles. He was performing miracle after miracle so Miriam and I could travel thousands of miles to hold our Oma’s hand one last time, to kiss her once more, and to hear her say, “Hallo”. I am in awe everyday of what He accomplished for us. I am in awe of how much he cares for every minute detail of our lives.

Not least of all, was the miracle of making it to Germany in time. God kept my Oma on this earth just long enough for us to travel 29 hours to see her one more time. I still can’t quite believe it happened the way it did! God is so good!

There were more miracles while we were in Germany, too. God was repeatedly reminding us that He was right there with us and that He cared deeply for us and our situation. It amazes me how He is so intricately involved in every detail of our days.

We made it in time and then while we were there we got to be a part of planning Oma’s funeral. It was such a special time. Just Miriam, our two aunts, and myself. We spent most of one morning figuring out all the details of Oma’s funeral, from flowers to music to poems. It was so beautiful and the Lord orchestrated it all so perfectly.

We made it in time and then while we were there we got to be a part of planning Oma’s funeral. It was such a special time. Just Miriam, our two aunts, and myself. We spent most of one morning figuring out all the details of Oma’s funeral, from flowers to music to poems. It was so beautiful and the Lord orchestrated it all so perfectly.

There was a poem my Oma loved so we put it in the newspaper obituary. It speaks of an albatross and a rainbow. So we put a rainbow on the funeral card and the newspaper obituary. The day of her funeral was blustery, cloudy and cold. It kept threatening rain. We held the funeral in a beautiful building with floor to ceiling windows on three sides, right in the cemetary. Then the casket was brought right to the grave and we prayed. As each person walked to the grave and laid a flower on it or sprinkled holy water on it, I just stood by and cried and cried. Then just as the last person came forward, the skies opened. Rain started to pelt us, but I just couldn’t leave her side. It was so heart breaking to know another solid link between my life in the states and Germany was gone.

My cousin noticed a giant bird soaring silently round and round in circles right over our heads. He had been there the whole time we were standing there saying goodbye to Oma. It wasn’t an albatross, but a Red Kite. A beautiful, graceful bird.

Then, later, while we were having lunch, the sun broke through those dark clouds and filled the sky with the brightest, most vivid rainbow I’ve seen in a long time.

“I’m with you,” God was saying. “I’ve got your Oma. It’ll be okay. Trust me.”

God does care about you. He reminded me so vividly that week while I was in Germany. If you ever doubt it, ask him to show you. Then open your eyes and be ready for miracles. They still happen. He is real. He does care.