Day 32

The God of Little 

My God can create miracles. Big, awe-inspiring, breath-taking miracles. I've seen instances where he has healed physical ailments, emotional sicknesses, and financial difficulties, just to name a few. Most recently, we are the witness to a wonderful healing He is performing on two boys. If you had seen the car they were in after their accident, you would not have expected them to survive. But my God is in the business of big, mighty acts. One boy is wearing a foot cast and has returned to school just 7 days after being pulled from that wreckage. His brother, however, was injured so much worse and is resting in the knowledge that God is healing and mending him regardless. His first words to a visitor in his hospital room after the trach tube was removed were that God had his back. This is the type of boy that Andrew is and it is no surprise that his visitor was a student that goes to school with Andrew...... and is an atheist. God is working miracles, and the results will be His glory spreading much farther than just words we can say to someone. Our God is showing his wonder-working power to unbelievers through ordinary people. Andrew will be healing and rehabilitating for a long, long time. But, his love for and faith in God the Father are his driving force and he's rubbing off on those around him.

It's easy to see something huge and miraculous and say to yourself, "yes...that is definitely a 'God-thing'." Something so great would be hard to attribute to an accomplishment by a man or woman. But, what about those small things? Those little things that people call "lady luck" or that the "stars were in alignment", "right place - right time". For instance, I went to the grocery store today and the good brand-name paper bowls were on sale cheaper than the store brand. Unadvertised - just marked down. Luck? No, my God was watching out for me. When I went to the dog food aisle, I reached down to get canned food for my "babies". One (and ONLY one) of the cans had a coupon attached to the top allowing me $1.00 off 8 cans. Exactly the number of cans I had anticipated buying and here was another gift to me. A miracle. 

Here's a little bit bigger one.....last fall, Wade and I took a long trip on the motorcycle - two days down to Georgia and three days home. A wonderful trip that we will not soon forget. I believe God allowed us this because He knew that this summer we would not have the same opportunity. In 2003, Wade and I celebrated our 29th anniversary with a fancy dinner out at LaComedia (a dinner theatre event), we had balloons, cake, sparkling cider, and a picture taken. Why did we celebrate #29? It seemed strange at the time and we didn't anticipate it, but it turned out that Wade was in Afghanistan during our 30th anniversary. Another small miracle of God's. So many times, too many to list, we've faced the wall in financial needs, but God has provided exactly what we needed.  I am learning to be more receptive to the "nudgings" in my heart and my mind. What I used to believe was just me talking to myself, I now believe is God's Spirit speaking to me. I tend to follow these nudges because most times it works out to our advantage. One of the important lessons from all this is that we need to recognize God's small miracles - He is in the business of miracles, big and small, today just like (or more than) He was in biblical days. Our job is to discover and reveal these as miracles. We need to reveal God's glory. 

Today was the last day of our Thursday morning Bible study with the Beth Moore book. At the end of the session, Beth asked each woman to pair with another, hold hands, look in their eyes and repeat a blessing on them. How touching - how hard to not cry all over everything. What a blessing for me to offer a blessing on Beverly Mettert. This wonderful lady is such a lover of our God. She is a lung cancer survivor and still struggles with multiple health issues, but her joy in her Lord is so contagious. Last summer, Bev and her husband, Denny, invited Wade, myself, Jason, Peggy, Jaide and Jared onto their boat at the reservoir. We spent the afternoon skiing - well TRYING to ski and then they pulled everyone around the reservoir on tubes. What a fun afternoon. At the end of the day, Bev dazzled us all with her water-skiing skills. Here is a woman in her 70's that skis like she's 18! She is truly an amazing woman. Her life is full of miracles, but she doesn't hide them, she happily and joyfully shares them with anyone. What a wonderful lesson she is giving to us all. Share your miracles, big and small, with others. 

I'm so excited because Wade will be sharing another posting tomorrow morning. I am looking forward to that. However, right now he is battling with a continuing cold/sinus problems as well as a sore back. We are praying for him to get relief. 

And I am also excited because tomorrow morning I will wake up and drive all day to Georgia to spend the weekend with Tiffany. Looking forward to some girl time with my little girl. How fun!!