At the Drop of a Miracle
Sometimes the Extravagance of God Comes a Drop at a Time
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I consider it a privilege to be able to share in the stories. My background would not have qualified me, but by the grace of God, the Lord Jesus did the qualifying. To set the record straight I want to take a line from Saint Paul, who said, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to His service” (1 Timothy 1:12). That is my testimony. There is a saying that has variations, but I like the one that goes like this: “An ordinary person, sufficiently excited, can achieve an extraordinary victory.” The Holy Spirit infused the excitement in me to glorify the Son Jesus with the anointing of the Father’s blessing. With that kind of excitement and anointing, I applied to the International Mission Board of the Primitive Methodist Church of the USA.
I had the luxury of being sent by a mission board that gave me the great liberty to share the gospel of Jesus. I also had the great benefit of my predecessors. They set the stage with their vision. Theirs was a “wholeistic” and a holistic approach. To me, no matter how you spell it, it includes the whole, the totality of the person. And it includes the holistic, that point of sacredness—the holiness of the person. That is a concept of the totality of the Jesus message, to redeem the total person. Those early missionaries set the pace by addressing education, unhealthy conditions, poverty, illiteracy, and other deep social concerns.
But their overriding, deepest concern was delivering the message of Jesus in the clearest, most understandable terms. They knew that the good news of Jesus would set the people free. Yes, free indeed! In that way, they too redeemed in soul, heart, mind, and body could love, worship, and serve their Lord and God—yes, and with all of their hearts, minds, and strength!
One day, when Jesus came to the village of Nazareth, His boyhood home, He went as usual to the synagogue on Saturday and stood up to read the scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him, and He unrolled it to the place that says, “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4: 16-19) He then rolled up the scroll and handed it back to the attendant and sat down while everyone in the synagogue gazed at Him intently. Then He added, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21)
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About the Book
With an emphasis on the ordinary invaded by the extraordinary, At the Drop of a Miracle is packed with stories of a missionary adventure in Guatemala experienced by author Donald Parkhill Lawrence.
Highlighting God’s intervention, this compilation of standalone stories is rooted in scripture and can be used as a devotional. Each narrative demonstrates how the drops of a miracle produce ripples that touch and affect others with a divine purpose for today, tomorrow, and forever. From learning tooth extraction skills, to helping a man find lost money, to assisting in the aftermath of an earthquake, the stories are patched together in a quilt of experiences, speaking of the incredible hand of God on an ordinary family.
At the Drop of a Miracle gives insight into a family’s unique missionary life while providing inspiration and a reminder of God’s faithfulness, concern, compassion, purpose, and love.
About the Author
Donald Parkhill Lawrence attended Nyack Missionary College and traveled to Guatemala into Ixil country as a missionary of the Good News under the International Mission Board of the Primitive Methodist Church. He’s also worked in the Chester County Migrant Ministry as Outreach Coordinator; served as pastor of Lionville Community Methodist Church in Lionville, Pennsylvania, under the Primitive Methodist Conference; and also became a worker at H-E-B Grocery. Lawrence is a husband, father, and grandfather.