TOBIT, TOBIAH AND JON

Sometimes the miracles of God take our breath away. Sometimes the mercy of God overwhelms us. Sometimes the results of the guidance of God results in happenings that are so supernatural that the human mind has trouble believing them. It has happened to me many times. The events from the following experience have been so magnificent that I had to choose to believe them because my human mind had trouble computing that God has the ability to astound His children with such awesome magnificence. Yes, this story about the astounding answer to My prayers still takes my breath away, leaving me so in awe of God that all I can do is thank Him, thank Him and continue to thank Him. Years ago when our son Jon announced to my husband and me that he was leaving college and joining the Navy, the events that followed as a result of my grieving appeals to God necessitate my writing highlights of the entire story, hoping that the testimony will build faith in those who read it. At the time, the shock of Jon’s announcement of the change of his plans from attending college to joining the Navy was alarming to me because Jon was the kind of kid who hardly ever left the block where we lived. He was the son who was not very social, came home early from parties and dates, one who seemed to enjoy the home fires and their security. So when he decided to leave college and travel the world with the Navy, it was completely out of character for him. It was definitely not in his plans or our plans for his future, which was for him to fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor. I did not receive the news of his joining the Navy with the same joy that my husband did. My husband rejoiced that he was getting a big raise because he didn’t have to pay for college for Jon. However, I had my doubts that Jon had the social skills and maturity to make the right decisions while in the military. I prayed and prayed and prayed about his decision. I cried and cried and cried before he left for boot camp. I cried when he left on the bus for his first experience in the Navy. I feared for his safety since he had always been a “home body.” The day after my husband and I put Jon on the military bus headed for boot camp, I sat on our back porch and cried and wailed and prayed for his safety. Visions of devastating war scenes tormented my mind and I was unable to pull on the gift of faith that God so often gives under trying situations. I prayed for hours about the safety of our son and prayed for his future. A recurring thought kept passing over my mind as I prayed. It was that I should read the book of Tobit in the Apocrypha part of a Roman Catholic translation of the Bible which had previously been given to me by a friend. The book of Tobit and a few other books are not found in most translations of the Bible, not because they are not recognized as being divinely inspired, but they are deemed to be similar in value to other books which are accepted by both Roman Catholics and Protestants. However, I knew that there are many lessons from the books of the Apocrypha that are read from the lectern in the Episcopal Church, of which we were members. I had read many times from the Book of Wisdom in the Catholic Bible which was given to me by my friend, but had never read anything in the book of Tobit. Actually I had never had a desire to read that unfamiliar book, maybe having some doubt that the contents were divinely inspired. As I cried and prayed for Jon‘s safety, the thoughts kept coming again and again to read the book of Tobit. I kept refusing the thought, arguing with myself that there would be no reason to read that strange book of which I had no knowledge. Finally I decided that reading that unfamiliar book might serve to maybe get my mind off of my grief and fear for the safety of our son who would be traveling all over the world in military ships. Reluctantly, I went to my library of books and picked up the Roman Catholic translation of the Bible which contained the book of Tobit. I returned to my chair on the back porch and like a spoiled child I turned almost defiantly to the book of Tobit. I didn’t turn to the first chapter, but flipped immediately to the fifth chapter and let my eyes randomly land on the 18th verse which said that Tobiah was the son of a man named Tobit, and before starting on a journey he kissed his mother and father goodbye, but his mother cried and chided Tobit for sending their young son on the long journey to a foreign country. The mother wept uncontrollably as their son set off on the journey. There I was, crying the same type of tears for the same reason. In the book, Tobit assured his wife that their son would return successfully from the journey in good health. Tobit told his wife that their son Tobiah would be safe and sound because a good angel was going with him, that he would return unharmed and that the journey would be successful. Needless to say, I couldn’t believe my eyes at the similarity of the story of Tobit and the situation in which we were living at the time with our son Jon. The events were almost identical. I turned back a few pages to see if there was a reference to a particular angel of which Tobit spoke who was to accompany Tobiah on his journey. Sure enough, in chapter 3 of the book of Tobit there was the reference of the angel Raphael and his appointment by God to accompany Tobiah on his journey. It says that God heard Tobit’s prayer for the safety of his son, so God sent the angel Raphael to accompany Tobiah on his journey with the admonition to bring Tobiah back to this family safe and sound. When I read the story of Tobit and Tobiah, I had right there in front of me in black and white, on printed pages, God’s promise that our son Jon would be returned to our home safe and sound because he would be accompanied by a special angel, one sent with Jon to keep him safe until he came safely back from the Navy. There was no doubt in my mind that the story was for me. In fact, I praised and thanked God over and over and over for the story of Tobit and how it assured me of God’s intervention in the life of our son. I even thanked God that He had included that book in the particular translation of the Bible which had been given to me by a dear friend. I told God that I even thought He had put that book in the Apocrypha for me, to give me faith for the return of our son. There was even a reference in another chapter to Tobit having cataracts in his eyes. My own mother was going to have cataract surgery while Jon was in boot camp. The similarities of the stories were astounding. There were no more crying episodes for me, no more periods of wailing, no more bouts of depression from lack of faith. I had God’s promise in black and white that Jon would return from his Navy duties safe and sound. In fact, those two portions of the book of Tobit were all that I read at the time because the words were all that I needed to be infused with unshakable faith that God had appointed a special angel named Raphael to accompany Jon on his journey and to keep him safe and sound until he came home. Years later, after his safe journey ended, I continued to praise God for His assurance and for His being true to His words to me. The thought came to my mind that I should read some more of the book of Tobit. I read a few more chapters and found some more similarities. Tobiah found his wife while on his journey to the foreign country with Rapheal, had married her and later had seven sons. Again I was shocked at the similarities. Our son Jon found his wife while in the Navy. She is also foreign born, a beautiful Filipino woman, and they have four sons. The angel Raphael had done the same work in Jon’s life that he had done in the life of Tobiah in the book. Being awe struck at that revelation, I praised and thanked God again and again for his magnificent plan in answering our prayers. It’s been twenty-five years since Jon and his wife Jaycee were married. I decided that I needed to send this story to the friend named Claudette who gave me the particular Bible, the one containing the book of Tobit which infused me with unshakable faith for the return of our son from his military journey. So I determined to write the story today. As a reminder of the similarities in the stories, I decided that I needed to read the entire book of Tobit, which I had never done. There are even more unbelievable similarities in the stories, the one in the Bible which is thought to maybe be fiction and the story lived in reality by our family. In reading the entire story of Tobit, I was overwhelmed again with the majesty and power of God. Since I had never read the entire book, I had missed another shocking similarity. In the book of Tobit there is a lengthy story of Tobiah and his bride Sarah. Edna was the name of Sarah’s mother who was a loving, positive influence in her life. Edna was the name of my own mother, who had the same positive attitudes and who was also praying mightily for Jon’s return from his military journeys. I’ve never seen the name of Edna in any other book of the Bible. It’s not currently a popular name. I love the name Edna now because it has special significance, confirming another special element of the circumstance in which God infused me with faith for the safe return of our son Jon to our family exactly the same way He returned Tobiah to his family in the book of Tobit in that Bible. Tobit told his son Tobiah that he should tell the story of God’s mercy in sending the angel to accompany him on his journey so that others would know about God’s desire to meet the needs of all of His children. I have accepted that admonition as my own, to tell the miraculous story of how God used a random book in the Bible to confirm His answer to my prayers and that He was sending an angel along with our son to bring him home safe and sound. I wrote a song to God years ago in which the chorus says, “Oh, You are more, more, more than enough. You’re my healer, my provider and my peace. Yes, You are more, more, more than enough, my deliverer, my shepherd and my life.” Yes, surely He is more than enough and all that we need! He proves His love to us constantly. Thanks to God for His answers to our prayers and thanks to my friend Claudette who years before the event gave me the Bible which God used to take away my grief. It became the effective tool through which God let me know that he was answering My prayers. Hopefully you will believe this testimony as you read it and it will build your faith that God will do the same type of miracles in your life. When you believe that He will, He certainly will. God is more than enough.