The Purple Chopstick

An Unlikely But True Story

            Sometimes God answers unusual prayers for little things that help build big faith.

            While vacationing in Oregon with our daughter and family, my husband and I visited the Lava River Cave in Bend, Oregon. We had brought extra jackets for the cold dampness, and battery-powered lanterns for guidance in the pitch-black tunnels.

            Leaving the warm summer sun behind us, we began our descent down a long winding set of 55 metal grating steps. Our daughter and granddaughter were descending just ahead of us. Meanwhile, to our left, a steady stream of people were coming back up out of the cave.

            I heard a man who was climbing towards us say, “Did you find it?” A girl just in front of him (probably his daughter), sounding desperate, replied, “No!”

            Dad: “But you have others.”

            Daughter: “But the purple one was my favorite!”

            Me (stopping, curious): “What did you lose?”

            Girl: “A purple chopstick, like this!” She held up a small, lacquered chopstick.

            Me (impulsively): “Don’t worry, you’ll find it!”

            Why did I say that?! Below the steps under our feet, black volcanic rock was dimly illuminated only by our passing lanterns bobbing and bouncing along. It would be highly unlikely to find anything in this dark, moist dungeon, even if we new exactly where to look.

            Since I had made such a rash promise, I silently asked God to help someone find the girl’s chopstick. We walked on through the narrowing tunnel, slowly covering a mile of rocky terrain. I forgot about the search.

            Coming back toward our starting point, we had just begun to ascend the long metal staircase, when our daughter suddenly called out, “Look! There it is!” She was pointing through a metal step to the black shiny rock beneath.

            I turned my light toward the spot to which she was pointing. Through the metal grating we could barely make it out.

            A purple chopstick!

            I reached down between the steps and managed to grab the slender object.

“Thank You, Lord!” I called aloud. Amazing that our daughter could even spot it!

But now, how would I contact the girl? I didn’t even know her name. Had she left word at the ticket booth? Did they even have a lost and found?

Shedding our warm coats, we hurried back to the ticket booth to drop off our lanterns. I asked if a girl had left word about losing a purple chopstick.

“There’s nothing in lost and found,” one of the ticket agents replied.

“No, I’m leaving this. A girl lost this chopstick. Did she leave her phone number?”

“Yes, I think so,” the woman replied. “It’s here somewhere.”  They promised to find the number and call the girl. She would be so happy!

I began to think of how slim the odds were of us finding the purple chopstick. What were the chances that a girl would mention her loss just as she passed by a woman who believed in prayer? Why would my daughter, guiding a busy three-year-old up a set of 55 steps, look down precisely as she passed over the hiding place? How could anyone find a slender, dark stick on a black rock under a stairs in a pitch black cave lighted only by hand-held lanterns? What were the chances that I would know how to get in touch with someone who had left the cave hours before? Why would I have the impulse in the first place to tell a stranger that God would answer an impossible prayer? But He did!

God tells us, “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3). What unlikely request have you been hesitant to mention to your heavenly Father?

You never know what crazy prayers God will answer! What an amazing God!         

What we experienced in the cave: see “Return to the Light”