Luck Has Nothing To Do With It

By Cindy Martin –

Luck has nothing to do with it. That was the theme of my son’s recent high school graduation class. I hadn’t heard the theme until the evening of the cap and gown ceremony and nothing could have been truer about that night. Unbeknownst to everyone except myself and a select few at the school, our son had been working on some big plans for that night. He’d spent months preparing to do something his teachers and his classmates had never seen him do before – walk independently across the stage to receive his certificate. To most this may not be that lofty of a goal, but to our son, Randy, who has cerebral palsy, this would be significant! His over 200 able-bodied classmates had only seen him in his wheelchair or occasionally with his walker or canes.

That night Randy’s aide helped him negotiate the stairs onto the stage and then right on cue Randy began to take one wobbly step after another. My heart was pounding with pride and nervous excitement in anticipation of the realization of Randy’s dream. Then the unexpected happened. His entire graduating class spontaneously erupted to their feet and began clapping and cheering, chanting “Ran-dy, Ran-dy, Ran-dy” with each unsteady but determined step.

His unsuspecting and clearly overwhelmed principal temporarily abandoned the formality of the evening as she stepped away from her appointed position on stage to receive Randy with open arms and wet eyes. Drawn into the moment, the crowd rose to its feet, applauding and wiping away tears.

As I sat down in my seat, my heart was brimming with gratitude. Earlier that day I had been repeatedly asking God to not let Randy fall but to let him experience success for all his hard work. I had called other godly women and asked them to pray as well. As the ceremonies continued, Ephesians 3:20 flooded my mind. God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (NIV). We had just experienced a taste of the lavish extravagance of God’s goodness and grace and it was way beyond our wildest dreams. Only God could orchestrate something so powerful. The precious memories of that night will linger long in our hearts and minds and as the 2013 graduating class theme reminds us, luck had nothing to do with it!

Prayer: Thank You Lord that You do not limit Your answers to the size of our requests.

Verse: “Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does” (Psalm 96:3 NLT).