One night I was trying to explain to a group of non-Guideposts magazine readers what a “Mysterious Ways” story was and why the feature was so beloved by our subscribers. “Oh,” said a man finally, “it’s like that old TV show, Unsolved Mysteries.” The others nodded, seeming to agree that he had hit the nail on the head. “Not quite,” I was forced to say, “because there’s no mystery about ‘Mysterious Ways.’”
No mystery? They looked at me as if I were talking nonsense. Then why on earth call it “Mysterious Ways”?
Why, indeed.
One of the first “Mysterious Ways” I read when I got to Guideposts was about a young mother whose son was inside a kindergarten classroom when a tornado struck the building. Out of her mind with worry, she called the school and was reassured by someone answering the phone that all of the children were safe.
“Your son is all right,” the kind voice said. School officials would be in touch. The mother hung up, immensely relieved and grateful.
Hours later, the school finally called to tell her that her son was unharmed and where she could pick him up. The officials were baffled, however, when the mother mentioned the first call. The building had been completely evacuated well before the tornado hit and, besides, the phone service had been knocked out for hours. No one could have possibly answered.
Then who was the person on the other end of the line with those comforting words, “Your son is all right”?
New to Guideposts and coming from a journalistic background, I was suspicious. Surely there was a logical explanation for all of this. I took it upon myself to investigate, combing through the story file and double-checking the facts. I was frustrated I could find nothing to justify my skepticism. The mother was completely believeable, and the school confirmed the particulars of the incident. No one could have answered the phone.
Still, during that first year or so at Guideposts, I persisted in playing the role of gadfly, always trying to find a rational explanation for every “Mysterious Ways” that dropped over the transom. At one of our weekly editorial meetings, Van Varner, then the editor-in-chief, threw up has hands and shouted at me, “If YOU were in charge of ‘Mysterious Ways,’ we would never have any!”
Wouldn’t you know it? I am in charge of “Mysterious Ways,” and we have plenty. Story after story offering hope, reassurance, comfort and guidance. Wondrous accounts of unspoken prayers answered, unknown yearnings realized, unexpected healings received. Each and every one of them true.
Have I grown less skeptical through the years? Actually, no. We still choose these stories very carefully and check them out thoroughly. But my understanding of what lies at the heart of this unique feature’s overwhelming popularity has closely paralleled my spiritual growth, as I’ve been able to see a divine hand at work in my life in ways that never cease to astonish and inspire me.
God’s ways may be mysterious, but His presence and purposes are not. Which is why “Mysterious Ways” are never unsolved mysteries.
