Oct/Nov 2021

Mysterious Ways

A brand-new magazine filled with true stories of extraordinary moments and everyday miracles that reveal a hidden spiritual force at work in our lives

Mysterious Ways2 min read
Editor’s Note
For my birthday, Matt and I went out to dinner. We’d picked a restaurant at the beach and booked a table with views of the water for 6 P.M. We were still readjusting to life after the pandemic, full of plans, back among people excited to be out and a
Mysterious Ways1 min read
His Humorous Ways
I sat huddled on the bed, worried and scared, as my husband, James, heated up water on our gas stove for coffee. A blizzard had blown through Texas, causing power out-ages across the state. No power meant no heat. God, protect everyone who has lost p
Mysterious Ways1 min read
Thoughtworthy
Ruminate on words of spiritual wisdom at Guideposts.org/Thoughtworthy ■
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News From Around Our Wonderful World
Branford, Connecticut Justine Guckin was folding laundry in the master bedroom of her home when she heard a crack coming from a tree in her backyard. Justine, who uses a wheelchair, had a feeling it was safer to go downstairs to spend time with her n
Mysterious Ways3 min read
A Farmer’s Prayer
In July 1973, when I was 17, a drought struck my family’s farm in Burnsville, Minnesota. It began with several days without rain. Normal for summertime. But the hot, dry days stretched into weeks. Our farm was our livelihood. We counted on the profit
Mysterious Ways5 min read
Healing Circle
My room at University Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, was crowded. I gazed up at the faces of my pastor, William Cox, and deacons from our church, including my husband, Brooks, who were gathered around my bed. For more than a year, I had been fighti
Mysterious Ways2 min read
Go for It!
Twelve-year-old Matt Reichley sat on his bed, turning his baseball cap over in his hands. He was getting ready to play in a baseball tournament with his team, the Iron Colts of Center Valley, Pennsylvania. This was the Colts’ first game since Matt ha
Mysterious Ways2 min read
In Your Dreams
One of the most common dream symbols, houses often represent our innermost thoughts and feelings. Dreaming of home is a prompt to look within. Dreaming of your childhood home might represent a desire for a more innocent time. A dream where you’re soa
Mysterious Ways4 min read
Q&A Katie Mahon and Joan Hill
A casual get-together set Joan Hill and Katie Mahon on a 20-year journey of discovery into miracles. Along the way, they published their first book, The Miracle Chase, in 2010. In the years since, hundreds of people who’ve experienced miracles of the
Mysterious Ways3 min read
Bringing Tiki Home
“Tiki!” I yelled frantically. Our little white poodle mix, Tiki, had slipped out the door earlier that evening while I was carrying groceries into the house. Now I was scouring the neighborhood trying to find him. My seven-year-old son, Jordan, and m
Mysterious Ways2 min read
The Vision
As soon as my feet hit the floor that morning, sadness washed over me. Another breakfast without Dee, I thought. My friend had died just a few weeks before. I wondered if, wherever she was, she felt lonely this morning too. When I moved back to my ho
Mysterious Ways5 min read
Hearing God’s Voice
Go back into the house! Sandra Farney, of Reno, Nevada, was backing out of her driveway when she heard the voice. It was a man’s voice, coming from inside her own mind, cutting through her thoughts with surprising force. Shocked, Sandra slammed on he
Mysterious Ways3 min read
One Final Moment
I sat across from my 84-year-old mother at the Mexican restaurant we often went to after her doctor appointments, watching her try to hide her confusion as she looked at the menu. “Mama, you always get the chicken quesadilla,” I said. “Why don’t you
Mysterious Ways4 min read
The Shadowy Figure
A figure loomed in the corner of my bedroom, a shadowy specter the size and shape of a man. It was faceless, yet I could feel its burning gaze on me. As soon as I registered it, the specter was upon me, embracing me with its shadow arms, enveloping m
Mysterious Ways1 min read
Spotted
I once saw a quote online that read: “And the moon said to me, ‘My darling daughter, you do not have to be whole in order to shine.’” I often returned to that quote for comfort. I’d been struggling with negative thoughts about myself, fighting the fe
Mysterious Ways1 min read
The Big Question Do Our Pets Go to Heaven?
More answers to this issue’s Big Question at Guideposts.org/PetsInHeaven ■
Mysterious Ways3 min read
A Portrait of Jesus
I awoke, startled. Who were these people crowded in my bedroom? What were they doing there? “Lois.” It was my mother, hovering anxiously near my bed. “It’s a flash flood,” she said. “The kitchen has already flooded.” She was holding a box of soda cra
Mysterious Ways1 min read
#Ahhhmazing
Vroom! Put-put-put! My eyes shot open at the familiar sound of my stepdad firing up the lawnmower. Groggy and irritated, I looked at the clock. It was 7:15 A.M. I’d decided to move back home for the summer after my freshman year at college, apparentl
Mysterious Ways2 min read
Mysterious Moments
It was my birthday, and I was driving home from a job interview six hours away. This wasn’t how I’d wanted to celebrate! I turned on the radio, flipping from channel to channel until I settled on a Christian radio program, hoping for some words of wi
Mysterious Ways5 min read
The Sergeant’s Boots
Fort Bragg, North Carolina, summer of 1988. I was a sergeant and one of 500 soldiers signed up for one of the Army’s toughest tests: a six-month-long Special Forces Qualification Course to become a Green Beret. Most of the guys were infantry-men—mach
Mysterious Ways1 min read
Star Turn: Jennifer Garner
When actress Jennifer Garner accepted the role of Christy Beam in the 2016 film Miracles from Heaven, she had no idea she was cast with the help of a heavenly hand. At the time, her 10-year marriage to fellow actor Ben Affleck had just ended, and she
Mysterious Ways2 min read
Right Place, Right Time
Julie and I walked around Lafayette Square in Savannah, Georgia. We’d been dating two years when I invited her on the trip. Little did she know, I planned to propose. Was Lafayette Square the perfect romantic place for it? I wanted to be sure. Lord,
Mysterious Ways1 min read
Secret Spaces
In New Orleans City Park, on the east end of Big Lake, grows a 100-year-old oak tree with a subtle, musical secret. Known as the Singing Oak, or the Chime Tree, its branches hold wind chimes, some as long as 14 feet, painted black to blend into the s
Mysterious Ways1 min read
Mysterious Ways
President and CEO John Temple Lead Editor Hilary Ribons Creative Director Kayo Der Sarkissian Editorial Team Olivia Abel, Kelly Allen, Morgan Beard, Meg Belviso, Cristina Calle, Sabra Ciancanelli, Caroline Cilento, Sabrina Diaz, Susan Downs, Kimberly
Mysterious Ways1 min read
End Note
Father Edward Hays (1931–2016) was an author, artist and priest known for his imaginative, mystical approach to Christianity. A 1971 pilgrimage to the Near East, India and Israel led him to expand his prayer life and clarified his call to service: to

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