The mysterious reappearance of a Texas woman’s Bible is being hailed as a miracle. The story behind the story is truly captivating. Joyce Evans of Tyler, Texas, long wondered about her late daughter Barbara, who died in 2011, and whether she embraced the Gospel.

As a Christian, Evans said she always hoped her three children would believe the Bible, and she tried to set an example they could mimic.

“If I showed them the love of God and the faith that I have, then they’re going to pick up on that,” she told KLTV-TV. As for Barbara, it seemed she might have charted her path, and Evans was left with questions about her daughter’s relationship with God.

“She was not perfection. But, how many are? I could never stop loving one of my kids. God gave her to me,” Evans said. “It’s when we wonder if they are saved that we’ll see them. You know, when we get there.”

Those questions persevered, as did prayers, until, one day in 2019, a Bible reportedly emerged in the lobby of Evans’ retirement center. It was left out in the open on a chair. Evans was shocked to open the worn book to see Barbara’s name inside. In fact, it was Barbara’s long-lost Bible, and in the back of the book, Evans discovered Scripture references about the Gospel message. “She had written the plan of salvation in the back of the Bible,” Evans said.

Some might wonder if there’s a reasonable and easy explanation surrounding how the Bible got there, but Evans said no one knows why or how it arrived. Somehow, Barbara’s Bible, a book holding purported answers to questions about her daughter’s spiritual state, made its way back to the family.

“They didn’t know where it came from or how it got there,” she said. “I do. God put it there. It’s an answer to my prayer.” Evans continued, “If you’ll just look around, you can see miracles in other people’s lives all the time. It’s what God is there to show us.”

One of Evans’ other kids, Teresa Aaron, believes the Bible’s reemergence truly was a miracle. “That’s is the first thing I thought of when I saw it,” she said. “I said, ‘Well, she is in heaven.’ And I do believe that now.” The experience brought “closure” to the entire family. When our loved one dies, we only want to know that they’re taken care of on the other side. For years, Barbara’s mother hoped and prayed that her daughter found the Lord.

The reappearance of this Bible can be taken as a sign from Barbara to her mother that, yes, she finally found God before it was too late. She likely knew that her mother was worried about her and wondered if she had found God. So she sent this Bible as a reminder. Perhaps the most beautiful thing about this encounter is that Joyce will see her precious Barbara again when her time comes. Watch Evans discuss the Bible.