Karen's Story by Sandra Rafuse

 This is Karen's story. She shared it with me one day while recalling a very difficult time in her life, telling me one of the beautiful things God did for her and her two boys at a time of great sadness and difficulty. Something beautiful they would never forget. 

"After my husband left me, I would go on a three mile walk everyday. During the first mile, I would memorize scripture.  During the second mile, I would pray.  During the third mile, I would sing. The walk went in a circle so I always ended up back at the place I had started. The pattern was the same every day. It never changed.

As the days and weeks went by, I began to realize I was seeing a "God thing" every day. It would be something special, or unusual, or unexpected. One day, as  I was crossing the road, I looked up and saw, facing me, a large, dark bird sitting on the branch of a tree. It stood up and opened its wings. . .they were huge. . .at least six feet wide! I was so stuck by their size!  When it lowered its wings and sat down, I continued on my way, keeping the picture of what I had just seen in my mind. Another time, a squirrel scampered into the ditch up ahead. It stopped, stood up tall, and watched me until I was quite near it. Then it crouched down and rushed away into the grass. 'That was unusual,' I thought. 'Having him wait like that until I got so close.'  And one time a swarm of bees went buzzing past me at high speed, racing to their new home, wanting to get there as quickly as possible. I had never seen so many bees flying that closely past me. Their noise and proximity were startling. 

I would share my experiences with my two sons, aged 10 and 13, and one day they eagerly asked if they could walk with me and experience their own "God thing". 'Sure,' I said. We started out on our walk and I prayed in my heart, Lord, don't let me down now. Please send them a sign that you are with us.

It was a pleasant day. The sun was shining down on us and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We were out on a country road and the boys were excited, expecting to see something special but not sure what that would be. We chatted as we walked and one or the other would ask occasionally, 'Do you see anything, Mom? Have we passed anything we should have noticed?'  

"No, not yet. It's coming. It's coming.' We were in the middle of the second mile. 

'Is it going to happen?' They lifted up their questioning faces to look at me.

'Soon. Soon,' I responded. Oh Lord. I'm counting on you. You have given me so many signs of your presence in the past weeks. Please send something for my boys.

We were approaching the last stretch of the third mile. I could see that the boys were becoming skeptical. Their faces had lost that look of expectancy they had started out with and their walk was not as bouncy as it had been at the beginning.

'In just a minute. In just a minute,' I encouraged them. 

 Suddenly, out of nowhere, a kaleidoscope of Monarch butterflies appeared and landed on some nearby trees and on us! They settled on the boys' and my shoulders, fluttering their wings delicately for a minute or two before they lifted up and flew away. The three of us stood there, speechless, looking at each other. No more looks of scepticism on my boys' faces. No more feelings of doubt. Just total unadulterated joy in each of us.  I felt so tremendously blessed that God had answered my prayers in such a unique and beautiful way. My boys were going to remember this "God thing" from him forever."

 Three years after hearing Kathy's story, I was sitting in the staffroom of a school I was subbing in that afternoon. One of the teachers looked at me and asked, "Did you hear about the Monarch butterflies that are congregating in the bush near the front entrance?" I told her I hadn't but that I would check it out at hometime. At 3:30 I walked out the door that was near the bush and I stopped and stood and looked. I could see dozens and dozens of butterflies fluttering in and about the branches of the bush. From top to bottom and all around. I couldn't take my eyes off them. I was reminded of Karen's story, of how beautiful it was, of how thoughtful and loving and kind God is when he answers our prayers. He is truly "the God who hears". My heart was full. I felt I had been given my very own "'God thing" that day.

El Shama is a Hebrew phrase meaning "the God who hears" or " the God who listens".

Sandra Rafuse lives in the small town of Rockglen, Saskatchewan, with her husband, Bob, a Gordon setter named Sadie, and a Peregrine falcon named Peet. She is a mother to two wonderful sons, a retired teacher, and an amateur writer.  Currently she is thoroughly enjoying having the opportunity to share what God has been teaching her through her life experiences .

Image by Erika-Lowe from Unsplash