Divine Intervention

Divine

Intervention

Jean Handy Burgin

Copyright © 2012 Jean Handy Burgin

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-7011-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-7012-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-7010-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012920600

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/02/2012

Contents

DEDICATION

DIVINE INTERVENTION

TWO THOUSAND, MILLION, SIXTY INFINITY

RUNNING OUT THE DOOR

BEFORE MELISSA

CHRISTMAS 1973

MELISSA

DREAMS

THE TELEPHONE CALL

TRUCKERS AND THEIR CB RADIOS

FRIED CHICKEN

GOOD BOSSES / BAD MANAGERS

BEFORE BECKY

THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE DRAINAGE PIPE

REBECCA ANNE

BECOMING A TEACHER

JULY FOURTH WEEKEND

NO LONGER GREEN

THE FORTY POUND BACKPACK

AT HOME WITH POPPY

FEELING THE SPIRIT

MOVING IN WITH MOTHER

ZUNI

THE MIRACULOUS MEOW

HONKING ANGELS

GOD SEES EVERYTHING

FEELING THE LOVE

PROLOGUE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

DEDICATION

T his book is dedicated to my very dear friend, W. J. Price. Since the day we met, the strength of his faith has always strengthened mine.

Archangel

DIVINE INTERVENTION

I have a deep faith in God and his guidance. I don’t always call upon Him for help. I don’t go around openly professing my faith in Him, but I hope that others can see Him in my everyday living. Though I don’t praise Him as often as I should, I have always had a very strong sense of Him in my life. I always try to give Him the credit that belongs to Him.

I have tried to be an independent person since I was in my teens. It is important to me to take care of myself; I never liked having to depend on others to fill my needs: I wanted my own money, my own car, and to make my own decisions.

There were times in my life when this was not possible. Sometimes I made poor choices and lost my independence and other times choices were made for me which caused me to lose it. Poor health sometimes takes your choices away and results in the loss of that sought-after independence. At times I coped with it; at other times I didn’t do so well. I just keep trying - that’s the best I can do.

When I run into a brick wall I can usually figure out what to do. If not, then I can always count on one of my daughters or a special friend to remind me to talk to God about it. Sometimes, I can recognize His intervention right away. Other times it takes years to see it. I may have to step back and take a long hard look at the way things turned out to realize the wonderful reasons they happened the way they did.

At times I have wondered why I knew the things I knew. I could sense when someone I hadn’t seen in a long time was about to pass me on the street or who would be on the phone before I answered it. I did not like knowing that something was going to happen days before it actually did happen. It is kind of creepy.

I came to believe that if I knew about things in advance I wouldn’t be as surprised or devastated when those things did happen. If I knew in advance what was about to happen I could be there for others when they needed my help. It was like ESP, but still creepy. I want to share some of these special times with you.

I became aware of His intervention at the tender age of ten. I’ll tell you about that in a chapter closer to the end of the book, which is really the beginning of my journey with the Divine and His intervention in my life. To help you fully understand how important that first intervention was, I invite you to share some of the amazing adventures it has been my privilege to experience.

TWO THOUSAND, MILLION, SIXTY INFINITY

O ne Saturday afternoon I seriously contemplated suicide. Very seriously. More seriously than I had in a long time. I looked around at my disorganized living room - the books, notebooks, and mail stacked on the coffee table; the boxes stacked in the corner the leaning philodendron that was about to fall over on the floor - and I realized that I couldn’t do anything drastic until I straightened up and put everything where it belongs. I certainly couldn’t leave my bedroom in such a mess with all the clothes scattered around and the bed needing fresh sheets. I would have to do the floors as well - my daughter, Becky, would be disappointed if the floor was not vacuumed. Thank goodness the kitchen was clean. I’ll never understand how that happened. I should have known something was seriously out of whack when I started doing the dishes every day.

I needed to get busy if I was going to do all that work. I was already tired since I had gotten up at 5:00 a.m. so I could put in five hours overtime at work that morning. I had not worked in over a year with the exception of two temporary jobs. I was at my third temp job. This one was expected to last for three months. It did not pay well, but a job is a job. I had not done the math yet to see if I would have been able to pay the bills and buy food. However, I must stress once again that it was a job, and I was very grateful for it.

My main concern on Saturday afternoon was that I couldn’t pay the overdue gas and electric bills. To top it off the rent was due on Monday. I still owed late fees from the prior month. Additional ones would be racking up at $5.00 a day. Oh, well. If you squeeze me - it won’t be money that oozes out.

Utility bills: the notice from the gas company said service may be disconnected without further notice on or after 07/06 unless the past due amount is paid by July 2. Today was Saturday, July 3. I was in big trouble. The amount of the bill was only $35.87, but when you only have $12.32 in the bank, $35.87 is a staggering amount.

Walking in circles in the small living room, I put my fingers in my hair on either side of my head, pressed my temples, and cried out, I need some help! I sat at the computer and tried to concentrate enough to play spider solitaire, but my frustration was too great. My eyes were leaking down my cheeks, making it hard to see.

I looked at the bills once more and decided that I should at least call the gas company again. I dialed the 800 number and got the automated menu. The voice said something to the effect of just speak, and I will understand what you are saying. Before I could say anything, the voice interrupted me and said, Please repeat what you said, I didn’t understand or hear you clearly. After a few more attempts, I gave up on that number.

Next, I called the emergency number listed on the gas bill and asked them how to get in touch with a real person in the customer service department. I was told that I could look on my statement for that information. A little help, please? How does she think I found the number to call her? Thinking that the electric company might need to hear from me as well, I called them next. A sweet voice identified herself as Mimi and asked if she could help. I gave her my account number, and, before I could tell her that I needed more time to pay the amount owed, I began to cry. I told her about the gas bill being over due as well as the electric bill. I told her about the hateful lady I talked to a few weeks ago about that bill, and how she said that I couldn’t have any more time because I had a history of late payment.

The gas and electric companies are actually the same company, so Mimi looked up my other account and said that there was no notation of my call, but, yes, that was the policy. She suggested that I needed to talk to the credit department and make arrangements. Then, she told me that she was a supervisor, and that she wanted to help me herself instead of turning me over to someone else. Mimi told me that I had been a valued customer for many years. She’s good. Now I can pay the gas bill on the ninth when I get paid, and I have until the twentieth to pay the electric bill. She asked me not to cry any more and told me that everything would be okay.

When I cried out for help this time, it came in the form of a sweet lady named Mimi. Before I hung up, I thanked her and said, God will bless you. He has already blessed me. God put Mimi in my path so she could give me the help I so desperately needed. What a blessing - for her and for me!

Divine intervention through a sweet lady named Mimi. Thank you, God.

Back to suicide - it’s not for me. What a horrible, selfish thing to do to the people I love.

I do, however, wonder why I’m alive. I need a purpose in life. My daughters tell me I am very important to my grandchildren, but being a grandmother isn’t enough. I used to know my purpose - it was to raise my children until they were independent. My prayer since I became a mother had always been: Please God, let me live until my children can take care of themselves and don’t need me anymore.

After my girls became more self-reliant, my purpose was to teach. I taught school for five years. I was an excellent teacher. I was creative and inventive and even entertaining, and the kids, for the most part, responded to me. An injury ended my teaching career.

In between classes, teachers would stand in the hall and monitor the students. We were always saying, Slow down! Stop running! A student running in the hall on the way to her locker accidentally hit me in the lower back with her back pack. It was stuffed full of books. I fell to the floor. I was hanging on to the railing and could not walk unassisted because the pain was so unbearable. I had muscle spasms in my legs and needed help all the time. Back injuries are almost impossible to prove, and I was denied workers’ compensation. For the same reason, I was also denied Social Security Disability.

I was unemployed for six years. During this time, I became dependent and had to rely on the charity of my family. My mother, brother and sister-in-law, sisters, children, cousins, and friends all took care of me. They kept me afloat.

After this period, my purpose was to help my daughter, Becky, during her illness and to help her take care of my grandson, Austin. When Austin was six-months old, Becky had kidney surgery. She had a total of ten procedures on her kidney. Eventually, she got well and they became independent. They moved away. That’s how it’s supposed to be.

I went to the doctor for my annual poke and probe, and they discovered a Nerf-football-sized tumor on my ovary. Within a week of this discovery, I had a total hysterectomy. After I had gone home and recovered enough to get around, I discovered I no longer had the debilitating back pain from which I had suffered for six long years. I could go outside and walk around the park with Becky for the first time in many years.

Divine Intervention through surgery. Thank you, God.

I think it was a miracle. Really. Follow me carefully on this. It’s just a theory. There is no medical opinion to back me up, but I think the tumor had been pressing on my spine for years causing me to be unaware that my spinal injury had healed.

The first thing I did after being