2. Together. Had she known the pain together would bring, would she have said yes?
3. If only she would ask for help. A simple prayer. Even a hint. God takes hints.
4. “Don’t be discouraged,” Gabriel said. “Heaven, it seems, has other plans”.
5. “Don’t worry about it. We all need help every now and then.”
6. “It is well . . . It is well with my soul!” No matter the trials her family faced, Chelsea had always found peace in the pews. This was one part of her family history she didn’t mind revisiting.
7. There’s something I can get behind. Chelsea knew what she’d ask God for. Answers.
8. “God heard that, and you know what? He even cares”.
9. “I don’t know everything you’re going through. Just like you don’t know everything I’m going through. But I can tell you, whatever it is, God can help. But you have to ask Him”.
10. “Try again,” he said. “And keep trying. I can’t promise that one prayer will change everything. But it might”.
11. Each star, numbered. Each star, named! Like every grain of sand. Every hair on his head. Every trouble that filled his day. Created. Numbered. Known.
12. Even the deepest, darkest questions can lead to a deeper faith. But still, there was so much he couldn’t see. So much he didn’t know. But one thing he did. Even in the darkest of nights, he could always look up.
13. No more sugar coating. No more rainbow-hued nostalgia. It was time to face the facts and move on with life.
14. “She says she had given up on God. But today God showed her that He cares. He even remembers her silent prayers”.
15. Is the real dad the one who does what the child wants? No, he’s the one who does what is right for the child.
16. I haven’t heard you laugh in quite a while. Lighten up. I love it when you are happy. Remember, come to me when you are weary and tired. I can help you.
17. “Everyone’s trying to help. But we need to work on our communication. Make sure we’re all speaking the same language. Understand?“
18. A: “I know it’s been busy, but this is a learning phase. We’re all learning a new normal”
B: “Why can’t we just go back to the old normal?”
19. A: “A person can live a day without silver or gold, but coffee? No thanks”
B: “I couldn’t agree with you more”.
20. “Think about it,” Manny said. “The Creator of the Universe is willing to answer your deepest question . . . and you’re not even willing to ask?“
21. "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him" (Psalm 145:18).
22. “Thank you! Thank you for everything! Your café is a precious gift from heaven. For years my doubts and questions have overwhelmed me, but God knew. Today, I am free of my burden!”
23. “Did the only thing I knew to do,” Bo said, reaching for the Bible on the end table. “There’s an answer for every occasion in here. Like a map for life. This is Jesus talking. He says, ‘Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest’”.
24. The reverence in the room was tangible. The angels knew this moment for what it was. Holy and sacred. A heart was opening itself for the greatest gift of the universe, the presence of God.
25. “Resist the Devil and he will flee from you”.
26. A:“You just wouldn’t believe how confusing things get down here. So many details, so many people, so many emotions!”
B: “It all seems a little simpler from heaven’s view”.
27. A: ”I have every reason I need to divorce you”
B: ”I know you do, but I’m going to keep hoping you don’t. I’ve missed this, Chelsea. We’re good at this”
B: “Good at what? Talking? Strolling beneath the stars? This isn’t real life”
A: “We can do real life,” he answered. “The good, the bad, the ugly. I mean, how much uglier can it get? I know we can do this, Chelsea. We can make it. Together.”
28. Chelsea couldn’t alter the past, but this was her chance to change the future.
29. “Well, I guess He came after us. Really pursued us. Through friends. Through events. Even through our rotten marriage. I wanted a better wife. She wanted a better husband. But God gave us something even better. Himself”.
30. A: “Your mother once asked me to pray for you and Sawyer. I want you to know I haven’t stopped”
B: “I don’t think it’ll ever work out between us, Bo”
A: “Maybe, maybe not. Not really my business, I reckon. Either way, I think you should know...God’s pursuing you, Chelsea”.
31. “You want to know something weird?” Sara asked, unconsciously tracing the scar on her face. “I’m thankful for the whole thing. That experience opened my eyes to how deep God’s love is. I’m reminded of His love for me every time I look in the mirror. I think there’s more going on around us than we realize. I think God uses even the bad and ugly things in this world to lead us to a good place”.
32. “‘Good’ happens when all the ingredients work together. When the beans are roasted to perfection and ground into powder, when the water is heated to just the right temp, if the pressure is just right to pull a perfect shot of espresso . . . it’s the collective cooperation of all these elements that creates good”.
33. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
34. “You’re a hardworking woman. You deserve a break”.
35. It felt good sharing a meal and a conversation with someone other than a customer, coworker, or child.
36. “I figure, if it really is God, I should use my proper name”.
37. “Ask with faith, faith that God will hear you and faith that God will do what is best. Prayer isn’t asking God to do what we want. Prayer is asking God to do what is right”.
38. “I’ve come to peace with my lot in life. God hasn’t healed my body, but He has done a good work on my heart”.
39. A: “God heard our prayer, Uncle Frank,” she smiled
B: He smiled in return. “He always has, Katrina. He always has”.
40. “They say it’s the simple things in life that make you happy. But happiness is anything but simple“.
41. “I always knew I wanted to get into coaching. I just wasn’t ready to humble myself and do it. But this might be the hard reset I need for my life. Plus I can be nearby, you know? As close as you want me to be“.
42. “What do you want me to do, Chelsea? If you tell me to stay, I will stay. I can’t promise to be perfect. But I hope to be the kind of man you want to have around. The kind of man you want to raise a family with and share a home with. I am becoming that man. I’m doing it for Hancock and Emily and for myself. And I’m doing it for you. Because I love you, and I’m in love with you. So just tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it”.
43. He knew the ultimate victory belonged to heaven, but that did not mean every battle would be won. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.
44. Not my will, but Your will be done.
45. Choose battles. Carefully.
46. “Sometimes we do the wrong thing for the right reason. We’ve all been there. But you’re doing the right thing now, and that’s what counts the most”.
47. “Can we not make this about you for a moment? Every day since you left, I have taken steps in the right direction. Hard steps. All because I made you a promise that I would change. A promise I have kept because I think we have a future. A good one. But there is no way we can move forward together if you’re going to hold me hostage to the past”.
48. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”.
49. “I knew I married a good man. I didn’t realize how good. It’s hard because I know I don’t deserve it. But the way he’s loved me through this. It makes me love him even more”.
50. It was a strange phenomenon, watching the past bring healing instead of hurt.
51. A: “I haven’t heard from anyone in a while. Did the mission fail?”
B: “It only fails when we give up. And heaven never gives up”.
52. "God protect my daughters... Give Chelsea eyes to see how much you love her...
53. A barrier had been broken. Beneath the hard, painful surface of her recollection were layers of healing truth. God had never left her side, not even for a moment.
54. A: “But why? Why me?”
B: “Because He loves you. In this moment. In every moment. He loved you before you uttered your first prayers with your mother on Easter morning. Even before you were born”.
55. “Golghota is the loneliest point in history. The last moment of true abandonment. From here on, abandonment is nothing more than a myth. And loneliness? A choice”.
56. “There is no separation. There is no chasm between you and the heavens. There is no divider, no veil between you and God’s love”.
57. “You wanted to know how you’ll make it on your own? You’ll never know. Because you never will be”.
58. “The house did not fall, because it had its foundations on the rock”.
59. Living on coffee and a prayer.
60. Her memories still remained, each and every one, intact and as present as ever. But their sting was gone, replaced with deeper truth.
61. With a few cups of coffee, Chelsea Chambers could change the world. She just knew it. As the clock ticked toward the opening hour of the new and improved Higher Grounds Café, Chelsea imagined all the life that would happen there in the years to come. Old friends would reunite. New friends would be made. Hopes and dreams, laughter and tears, they would all be shared over cups of coffee brewed with love and, more often than not, a prayer.
MAX LUCADO
MIRACLE AT THE HIGHER GROUNDS CAFE
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