Miracles and Wonders

Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father!

Thank You Father, for yet another lovely weekend!  Shannon and I were able to get out with some friends for a “date night” Friday evening, and on Saturday a friend of Jonathan’s from Kay’s Kamp came for a visit.  He hadn’t seen Matthew since Kamp last summer, so it was a wonderful reunion and the kids had an absolute blast.  As for me, with Shannon focused on her schoolwork I got to spend lots of time in the kitchen (the kids really enjoyed making fried wontons), got some housework accomplished and still had “down time” to spend on Sunday watching movies and playing with the kids.  All in all, a busy but very satisfying couple of days.

One of the movies I watched on Sunday afternoon was an old favorite of mine (I actually have it on Laserdisc).  It’s a 1992 film called “Leap of Fath” which starred Steve Martin as a con-man Christian preacher and faith healer named Jonas Nightengale who travels across the country hosting revivals and performing “miracles” for the crowd.  On his way to Topeka, one of the trucks breaks down and strands the troupe in a depressed farming town called Rustwater.  Jonas decides to do their show in the small town while waiting for the truck to be repaired, and is quickly met with resistance from the local sheriff (played by Liam Neeson) who seeks to expose him for the charlatan that he is.  Jonas’ perspective however, soon changes when a local handicapped boy begins to make him examine his faith in a different light.

This is one of those films I can watch again and again, and yet gain something new from it each time Lord.  It highlights some of the depths that in our brokenness we can sink to, and yet also delivers a powerful reminder of Your capacity for love and the spiritual transformation that can only come when we actively seek You.  Watching this time, the thing that struck me the most was the look on Jonas’ face when he witnesses an actual miracle of healing during one of his shows.  From the chasm of his self-centeredness and disbelief, he’s forced to see past himself and realizes that he’s truly not in control of things.

Mr. Martin does an amazing job portraying the character in this scene.  The look of awe on his face at that moment describes quite eloquently the feeling I get when I spend time in Your Presence.  🙂

Heavenly Father, thank You once again for a rejuvenating weekend.  It always refreshes me to find Your Messages to us in so many varied ways and places.  You truly are the God of “Miracles and Wonders”.  Amen.

~Phather Phil