In the coming months of this new year we will be welcoming our tenth grandchild into the world, which will require we make a trip back to Michigan. During that visit, we will reconnect with friends and family who live there. Our oldest grandchild, Benjamin, will be finishing up his basic training in the Air Force and heading out for advanced training followed by his first duty assignment somewhere in the world. Our middle daughter, Somer, will be completing her basic law enforcement training to become a fully licensed and certified policewoman for the State of North Carolina. Our son, Shawn, will be facing the challenges and triumphs of a significant new promotion at work. My husband will be building a personal business from our home. I will be launching into a new semester of seminary training with the goal of now achieving my Bachelor's degree (having completed my Associate's level courses in early December of 2013). I will "walk" at my graduation ceremony in Georgia in June of 2014. Bob and I will be diligently seeking a new church home and family where the Lord would lead us in worship of Him and personal spiritual growth. All these marvelous things... and more... will happen in 2014. And yet, the year entered without fanfare, almost unnoticed by either Bob or me. It seems strange that such a momentous new beginning should occur without great pomp and circumstance. And yet, in all of my life I find that the most significant occurrences entered quietly into my days. With only a few exceptions, there were no ostentatious displays of fireworks, no magnificent pageantry, and no stately processions that accompanied them.
When we contemplate God's miracles we are tempted to look only at those grand displays such as the parting of the Red Sea, the feeding of 5,000+ people with a single loaf of bread and 3 small fish, or the instantaneous Creation of all the universe by a single spoken word emanating from the mouth of Almighty God. Truly, these miracles are worthy of our wonder and awe. Yet, more often than not, most of us experience a multitude of miracles in the happenings of our everyday lives and they go relatively unnoticed by us. We rise in the morning able to swing our legs over the edge of the bed and stagger into the bathroom to rinse the sleepiness from our eyes. We bask in the love of our family and friends. We enjoy the comfort of a warm house, clean running water, and ample food for our nourishment. Medications and health care are provided for our well-being. Education is readily accessible. We have the privilege of worshiping God openly in our churches without fear of governmental interruption. The list of miracles we enjoy is endless, but most of them are simply taken for granted and blend into our daily rituals without splendor.
This year I want to be ever mindful of the tender mercies and abundant miracles of my life every day. I want to live, more than ever, in an attitude of gratitude and amazement for all God is doing in and through me. I desire to thank Him with greater sincerity than ever before for the gift of His Son and for the provision He has made for my eternal security in Him. This year... this 2014... I choose to recognize God's love for me with greater awe and wonder. I know that He has great plans for me in the days ahead, and the anticipation of them is as good as their realization. I'm in for the long haul, Lord... and I choose to enjoy the ride!
"So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to
find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are
from the hand of God."
(Ecclesiastes 2:24 NLT)
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