Miracles in a Coin Purse

 There are people who doubt or question God's existence because they have not seen grand miracles in their lives, but it is most often in the everyday miracles that God works.

Twelve to thirteen years ago, when I was serving a mission in Guatemala City, on a bright, sunny, and hot day on the coast, my companion and I had a meeting in a different area. While there, we stopped at the ATM to withdraw money because buses and taxi-like services were common. Before climbing onto the bus, I felt like I needed to put only the amount of the fare in the coin purse I carried, while the rest of the money went into the bottom of the backpack. I did not know why, but I did not question the feeling because I was accustomed to being cautious.

On the bus ride back, two men climbed onto the bus, threatened the driver, and stood at the front of the bus where they demanded money from everyone and walked past every seat. The first woman hardly had anything, and one of the men waved a gun at her, asking, "Is that all? Do you swear you don't have anything more?" I should have been terrified but was not. I simply pulled out the coin purse and held it up as they passed. The man took it, and then he did something that could have made my heart stop—he rubbed it between his fingers. There was nothing in there but two small coins. He should have threatened me the same way he did to the woman at the front. But he didn't. He walked past and continued to collect money until they jumped off the bus. I don't know if he felt money inside that did not exist or if he thought it wasn't worth his while to threaten a foreign girl, but what I do know is that it's evidence that God does watch after us.

God does not prevent bad things from happening all the time because he won't interfere with anyone's agency, and sometimes, he will allow them to happen because we need to learn something, but if a miracle like I experienced isn't evidence enough that he cares about us, I don't know what is. He is real. He loves us. He has not forsaken us.