Spiritual relationship help &
Building self esteem
Chicken Soup for the Soul cocreators Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen with Chris Karcher
ABC's Dr. Timothy Johnson,
Finding God in the Questions, and Chris
.
Lee Strobel, The Case for a Creator, and Chris Karcher
Spiritual relationship help &
Building self esteem
Spiritual relationship help &
Building self esteem
Watch for providential paths
She could have missed it. Most people would have. But not her. Her résumé includes thirty-five Emmy Awards, the highest-rated talk show in television history, a book club that created instant bestsellers, Newsweek’s “Woman of the Century” (January 2001), one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of the twentieth century (June 1998), Academy Award nominee, and a magazine named after the first letter of her first name—a single letter of the alphabet identifies her.
In the early days of her career, and against the advice of some friends, she quit her job coanchoring the six o’clock news in Baltimore. She embraced uncertainty and moved to Chicago in 1984 to host the local talk show A.M. Chicago. Two years later, the show became nationally syndicated and number one in the ratings.[i]
You know the show that bears her name: Oprah.
Lucky break or providential blessing?
An adopted baby girl became a nurse when she grew up. She began work in the local hospital and was assigned to care for an older woman, while working alongside of another nurse. After becoming acquainted with the others, she made an alarming discovery. The patient was her biological grandmother. The other nurse was her biological sister.
Coincidence or divine incident?
An artist was heartbroken when her work was not selected for display at a prestigious art gallery in another state. Feeling rejected and depressed, she returned home. The following year she sold more than a million dollars worth of artwork in her home state.
Personal windfall or divine planning?
The family of a dying man is told he will not survive the night. The man makes a miraculous recovery. The medical community called it a spontaneous growth cure.
Medical miracle or divine intervention?
In Addiction and Grace, Gerald May wrote, “Miracles are nothing other than God’s ordinary truth seen through surprised eyes.”[ii]
God is always at work. The Spirit blows us like the wind. We never know which way the hand of God will lead us, only that the hand is always there.[iii]
As you allow yourself to be drawn into grace, you open yourself to exploring the providential paths of divine planning.
You may reprint this article provided it includes the following paragraph, including contact information:
Copyright © 2003 by Christine N. Karcher. Chris Karcher is the author of Relationships of Grace, Amazing Things I Know About You, and Relationships of Grace Workbook. To order books and tapes, schedule Chris for speaking engagements, or subscribe to Chris’ newsletter, visit www.relationshipsofgrace.com, email order@relationshipsofgrace.com, or call 1-877-GET-GRACE (1-877-438-4722).
[i] http://www.oprah.com/about/press/about_press_bio.jhtml, rev. May 2002, 3 August 2002.
[ii] Gerald May, Addiction and Grace (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1988) p. 154.
[iii] John 3:8.