“SUNRISE OVER SAVANNAH”

Something I believe many of us fail to comprehend is the simple fact that here on earth, miracles are not the exception, they are the rule. Without delving too far into the weeds, I can honestly say that it is a miracle for me to be sitting here typing my thoughts for anyone to read.

As I look back over my life, I often have it broken down into compartmentalized segments. My mother had a truly beautiful and loving spirit, but she took a path in life that included several wrong turns. As it turned out, I was along for the ride and subject to the majority of those turns. I experienced and witnessed things during the course of my childhood that could have sent me spiraling off on some significant wrong turns of my own. I could look back on those years with any number of negative emotions, but that isn’t how God raised me.

While I had traumatic experiences as a result of my mother’s choices, God blessed me with an earthly father who worked very hard to make the best choices he could. He taught me about integrity, kindness, generosity, humor, persistence, and many other character traits which I aspire to every day. Because of the type of person my father exemplifies, I am able to look back on the experiences I had with my mother with a perspective that makes them useful and not burdensome. That is a miracle.

Despite the challenges I’ve faced, God blessed my life with kind and loving people every step of the way who helped me maintain the loving nature He gave me by the example they set in their behavior, as well as in the love they freely showed me. Though it was easy for me to shower love on those around me, I have always maintained a very guarded heart. Without realizing it, I have kept everyone in my life at arms length. But, God even had a plan for that. He brought a friend into my life who became my sister. For the first time ever, I let another human being inside all of the walls I’d spent a lifetime building and fortifying. Another miracle.

By bringing a sister into my life, God showed me how to love and trust to a degree I’d never allowed before. All of this prepared my heart and mind to meet the love of my life. I had given up on the notion that I could love and be loved the way I saw so many others able to do in their lives. But, God always has a plan and always makes a way. This has been the greatest miracle of all. I look at all that my sister and my husband have been through in life, and it is so easy to see that they were prepared for me as much as I was prepared for them. It has taught me that no detail is too small or insignificant for the Lord to put in place. When I think back over my life, I can see miracles throughout the years like fireflies in a meadow on a warm Southern night… beautiful and plentiful.

Every morning I drive to work well before dawn, and I am blessed with a beautiful sunrise almost every day. For me, those sunrises are reminders of the goodness and majesty of the Lord. They are reminders that He constantly creates miracles all around us. It is up to us to learn how to recognize them. Every heartbeat on earth, no matter the chest in which it originates, is a miracle.

Consider the people and circumstances of your life…look at them through the eyes of God. How many miracles are you able to find? When was the last time you stopped to thank God for His attention to the details of your life? Take a moment to give Him the well-deserved kudos for all He has done for you…take a moment to tell the people you love what they mean to you…take the time to recognize the ways you’ve been prepared for your life as it is today. After you’ve done all that, thank the Lord again for making it all possible!