“Sometimes, the Lord sends his blessings in such a highly unusual way, dramatic or precisely-timed manner, that it might be likened to a ‘divine signature’ . . . It is as though the Lord ‘signs’ the blessing personally so that we will know with certainty that it comes from him.” – Gerald N. Lund
Divine Signatures: The Confirming Hand of God
I have seen God’s divine signatures in my life telling me he knows me personally. I feel impressed to share a personal miraculous story with you. I have included as many details as possible because that is where the evidence of God’s hand is in our lives. God is in the details.
A few years ago, my best friend Helen and her family had a job opportunity that would move their family to American Samoa. For many logical reasons they decided they were not going to take the opportunity at that time. To their surprise, God had a different plan and inspired them to take a chance on this new adventure. As I said goodbye to my friend, I jokingly said, “bring me back a baby!”
Grateful for modern technology, we were able to stay in contact over the next several months through Skype and email. When I started our last and final IVF cycle (we were getting old and running out of money), Helen was along for the ride. I was certain this attempt (unlike the previous two) was going to work.
My husband and I had told God previously we were not interested in ever doing that again! Yet there I was sitting on a table hearing the doctor tell me they had one viable embryo and asking us if we were sure we wanted to do the transfer before they charged us $16,000 for the procedure. We said yes, because we felt directed by God to do it.
The day after our IVF transfer, Helen sent me a strange email saying something unusual had happened to her at church but she couldn’t share any details yet.
A few days after Christmas, we found out that our IVF cycle did not take. We were not pregnant. I did not understand why God would direct me to do something He knew would not end favorably. To say I was sad isn’t quite accurate, and yet I am at loss as to how to describe the disappointment I felt. I was literally knocked off my feet. Although I didn’t know when or how I was going to get back up, I believed my God loved me and would show me He did.
Two weeks later, Helen emailed me, wanting to Skype. She had, in a “highly unusual way,” been prompted to talk to a complete stranger about adoption. It is important to understand how unusual this interaction was for her. It wasn’t unusual for Helen to receive spiritual promptings or to talk about adoption since her first two children were adopted. However, it was “highly unusual” that she was living on an island halfway across the world from her home, and that she was sitting in a church meeting she typically didn’t attend because she taught a different class at the same time—making this the ONLY week EVER she would meet this stranger. In addition, she knew adoption was common in Polynesian cultural but that children were typically placed within the birth parents’ own families. Helen was terrified she would offend this new stranger by saying what she was prompted to say.
With tears in her eyes, Helen walked up to this stranger and began to share her tender feelings about adoption and her love and appreciate for her adopted children. To her surprise, this stranger began to cry and share how her niece was pregnant and they were looking for a family to adopt this child.
Two days later Helen was invited to meet this stranger’s family. It was here that she met an expectant mother named Anna and her mother Afiona, along with some of their extended family. Afiona and Anna shared with Helen how they prayed for months to know what to do. They felt God was telling them this child was supposed to be placed for adoption but they could not find the right fit in their family. They were confused and sorrowful until Helen approached Afiona’s sister at church. Afiona shared a dream she had the night before, in which she was walking in the mountains of Utah with Anna’s child. A car pulled up in front of them and Helen (a red headed woman from Whales) stepped out of the car. There was no mistaking who she was. And it was clear in her dream, Helen was there to pick up Anna’s child and take her to family in Utah. As Helen heard this she knew exactly what role she was going to play in this story.
Do you remember the strange email Helen sent to me a month or so prior?
Helen had sat next to Anna in a class and noticed for the first time she was pregnant. A distinct impression came into her mind saying, “That is Addie’s baby.” It was such an unlikely notion she dismissed it from her mind, other than finding it surprisingly odd, until this very moment when it was no longer unusual but foretelling.
