0 A Miracle and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

One of my favorite things to do is have coffee with friends. 

Two or three hour coffee dates

If we were meeting for coffee, I'd order my Venti nonfat latte and quickly catch up on trivial items while we waited. 

As soon as we got our coffee and sat down, I'd want to know how you are, 

your family, job, kids, church. . . 

as the conversation went along, I would tell you about the absolute miracle that happened in my life. 

You would probably already know that Gus gets nervous during thunderstorms . . . 

you would know that this is from being at his trainer's the two times the river in the past 8 years (quite far away from the kennel) has overflowed and caused his kennel to flood. 

You would know that I adore Gus' trainer and totally understand that random acts of extreme weather aren't his fault. . . and that before the water even reached Gus' kennel (both times), the trainer was already there evacuating the dogs to higher ground. But needless to say, huge thunderstorms, with a metal roof overhead, have caused Gus to not really enjoy impending rain and storms!

Of course, you would know that Gus has gone to Grandparent Day Care while I was at school for most of his life. 

But then I would tell you how a couple of weeks ago, there was a quick thunderstorm that might have lasted 10 or 15 minutes. 

After school, my mom realized that Gus was gone and called me. When I got to their house, I saw that he had dug out of the backyard. . . something Gus has never done. 

I immediately called my dad and Nate who both raced home from work. . . 

Nate called my brothers. . . 
who brought my sister in laws.  . .

and in a matter of time there were six cars searching my parents neighborhood. 

We searched for hours. . . 

my dad emailed the neighborhood and asked if anyone had seen Gus. . . 

In the back of our minds, we knew that Gus doesn't really know what a street is and that he normally runs to cars not from them. . . 

he knows what my dad's car looks like and every time we are walking and a car that looks similar drives by Gus' ears pick up and he tries to go towards the car. . . thinking his Grandpa has come to see him. . . 

My mom received a call from a neighbor who said she saw Gus run across a very busy street . . . she said he was running as fast as he could and of course didn't look right or left. . .
but he crossed without getting hit.

you would know, that in the big city that we live in . . . the roads are always busy. . . but on a Friday afternoon. . . it is only a miracle that Gus ran across such a busy street without getting hit.
My mom said God parted the "Red Sea" for him. 

Because of that phone call we knew more of a specific area to look in. 

But still two hours later, we hadn't found him. I looked on the sides of all the busy streets and the highways near my parent's house. . . thinking he had been hit. 

But still there was nothing. 

Nate walked up and down the bayou thinking he would have wanted water. . . 
But he was nowhere to be found.

Finally, it was turning dark. . . 

my mom, dad, and I randomly all pulled up to a park at the same time and decided we would go home and reconvene. I was going to walk the perimeter of the park just to see if Gus had been hit and had crawled somewhere to hide. 

I was on the other side of the park when I received a phone call from my mom (and then my dad) saying my dad had found Gus. 

He was running as fast as he could down the middle of a street towards a very busy street when my dad spotted him and called to him.

We were so so thankful.
(and Gus was so excited to see my dad!)

The likelihood of a dog running around my parents neighborhood on a Friday afternoon, crossing busy streets and not getting hit is an absolute miracle.
My mom still can't talk about it without crying.
She says God scooped Gus up in his arms and just held him until we found him.
A 100% miracle.
I would laugh and show you this picture

and tell you about how Gus the next morning had to deliver flowers to his aunts and tell them, "Thank you for helping find me!"
We would talk about how important having tags and a microchip is and how I was so comforted by that while we were searching for Gus. I would tell you how we took sweet Wrigley, at 15 years old, to get microchipped that Monday. As my vet said. . . you just never know.
We would probably marvel at God's hand over the whole event and just sit in disbelief over such an obvious miracle.
I would want to hear more about your life. . . you would most likely have an amazing story of how God performed a special miracle in your life.
Towards the end of our time together I would hand you a bag of these cookies and pass on a family favorite recipe!
We would hug, talk some more in the parking lot and then three hours later finally drive off. . .
and our coffee date would have been one of my favorite ways to spend the day.
Sadly, I can't have coffee with my "blog" friends. . .
but hopefully virtual coffee is the next best thing!
Happy Sunday!
Marveling at God's goodness today!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
1 1/2 c flour
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
3 c Oatmeal (Quick Oats)
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 c shortening (or butter)
1 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 nuts (optional)
1 c raisins, craisins, or dried blueberries
Cream the sugars and shortening together then add the rest of the ingredients one at a time. Mix well. Roll into pin pong ball sized balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-11 min at 350 degrees for chewy cookies. Cool on a rack. When cool put in a large storage bag or plastic container
Recipe from my Aunt Debbie