Raised from the dead; a true story!

Once upon a time we had a litter of Great Dane puppies. 

Unfortunately we were careless and went on a outing for dinner from 5-9pm. We came home to our girl already in labor.  7 puppies lay dead.

We thought she had another week until she was due, and so were were shocked and very upset that the puppies didn't survive.  She went on to deliver 5 more puppies, by the time we have everything set up...warming pads, bedding, heat lamp, towels, etc it was around midnight.

Around 1 in the morning I asked my husband to go get the puppies that were dead.  Looking at me like I was insane, I just stated, "I just want to see if they were boys or girls." They had been gone between 4 to 8 hours at this time.  Their paws were white and mouths were hanging open, it was hard to look at. We carefully washed them off so I could look at them closely and placed them inside a laundry basket with towels. 

I stared at the basket saddened by such a loss. I thought of my own children that never was able to experience life in this world. I have always pictured them perfect in every way, just as these little babies seem to have everything they needed except the breath of life in their bodies.

My husband looked at me with concern, I did feel a little weird about bringing them up to the house...even more so that they were now tucked in snugly. I placed the basket on a kitchen chair and wanted to wait til morning to bury them. I really don't know why.

My daughter was still awake, for we had been rushing around and failed to tuck her into bed  As she walked past the basket on her way upstairs, she stopped and asked if she could see the puppies.  I didn't think it was a good idea...but she was persistent. I explained to her that they were not alive and they will look as if they are sleeping.  She instantly had compassion and talked about how sad it was. Death is never pretty or easy to explain.

Then as she turned to go to bed, she said "Wait! We should pray for them!"

My mind raced for some excuse to tell her why praying wouldn't be a good response, but I couldn't find any.  I was mostly worried about what to tell her when her prayer request failed, for she has never doubted God's capability or desire to fill her requests.  This was way too big of a prayer though and I was sure I was going to have to come up with some convincing theory to explain why God is not responding.

She prayed, "Dear God, please wake these puppies up so they can play.  Amen!"

Then she skipped off to bed.

I tucked her in while conversing with God in my mind..."now what are we going to tell her?"
Then we fell asleep.

At 4am, at least 6 hours after we came home and found the litter, I hear a faint cry.

I went downstairs and found 2 of the seven puppies had "WOKE UP"
They were struggling to breath, we ran them under warm water, administered oxygen, and rubbed them constantly.  An hour later they were nursing!

We now had 7 live healthy puppies, I didn't know which 2 pups were the ones that were given permission by God to be part of this miracle. I was so excited and in disbelief that I never marked them, I just gave them to their mother to nurse.

The next morning I couldn't hardly contain myself to tell my little girl!  I woke her up early and said "guess what?.."  She didn't seem at all surprised by it, she just smiled like she expected it and went to see them.

I realized that I am often surprised by Gods miracles, which if I was honest with myself, means that I probably have disbelief in my heart in some areas.

I don't know where you are in your prayer life and relationship with God, but I hope this story makes whatever doubts you have about Him, smaller.  He cared about those pups, about Ilana's prayer, and about my doubts.  Since this is true, He must care about you, your big things, and your little things.  And if you have a hard time believing this, He really must want to be bigger to you then you have allowed Him to be.

I am working on my disbelief daily, by praying frequently about things that are out of my reach.  I try to not be surprised when I  hear about miracles that He has done or prayers that He answers.  I want the shock factor to fall away, because I know that it's a hint of doubt.  I want to KNOW that He can do anything...and that He wants to.  

I want to pray, skip off to bed, and know when I wake up, that He took care of it...and not because He has to prove Himself to me, but because He just loves to see me smile and be confident in Him as my source.

Be bold in prayer...He really really wants you to!! 

You can find me linked-up on these fabulous blogs!
http://timewarpwife.com/ 
http://cornerstoneconfessions.com 
http://purposefulfaith.com/
http://hollybarrett.org
http://www.intentionallypursuing.com
http://teachingwhatisgood.com
http://www.w2wministries.org/
http://jenniferdukeslee.com
http://holleygerth.com/
http://momsmorningcoffee.com
http://www.simplifiedlife.net
http://kayleneyoder.com
http://countingmyblessings.com
http://lauraboggess.com/
http://amamasstory.com
http://www.proverbialhomemaker.com
http://www.blessedbutstressed.com