SMALL MIRACLES

That seems like an oxymoron doesn't it? By definition, is any miracle small? What I mean, though, are daily miracles that we take for granted or don't even see because we are too busy living our lives.

This year, I want to live intentionally, fearlessly and joyfully. One way to be both more intentional and to be joyful is to be thankful. It's easy to get into a habit of being negative or even just neutral - we aren't complaining but we aren't being actively thankful either. To be completely honest, I tend to waver between the two.

But in the midst of less than stellar circumstances, I am still called to be thankful. In the midst of good circumstances, I am called to be thankful. Sometimes, it is when things are going well that is the easiest to just not give thanks at all. I'm not sure why that is exactly.

As I look around at my life, I see a lot to BE thankful for these days. One thing that God brought to my attention is my computer. My computer is old - ancient in computer years. It is almost 11 years old. (don't faint) The CD player no longer works. I can't download pictures or much of anything without it crashing. There has been more than one morning, with a deadline looming, that I have vacillated between anger and tears, as I prayed fervently that my computer would just work long enough to get my article edited and sent off.

Now, that may not seem like much to be thankful for, but the truth is, at the present time we do not have the funds to get a new computer. And this computer, according to everybody who knows anything about computers, should have been dead a year a go. It was doing that go to an all blue screen with white letters - the kiss of death in the computer world - but here it is, a year later, still chugging away.

That is a small miracle. It reminds me of the Israelites. Did you know that they wore the same sandals for the entire 40 years? God gave those sandals supernatural durability. They never wore out. I think of my computer as a modern day equivalent to those sandals. It may not be the newest or sleekest. It may not have all the latest bells or whistles, but it gets me where I need to go.

Sometimes, thankfulness is not about the big things that come with fireworks, but it is about looking around at our every day lives and really seeing with what God has blessed us. Many days, my work schedule doesn't feel like something to be thankful for - looming deadlines, dumb mistakes on my part, bratty kids, evening hours - but I look at the things I am good at, that I enjoy. They are teaching and writing, and guess what? I'm doing those things. Yes, I wish I did not have to work evenings and I wish that I got a day off once in a while, but I'm doing what I'm gifted to do. How many people can say that?

"Bless the Lord, Oh my soul; bless the Lord and forget not all of His benefits." Psalms 103:1

~ Blessings, Bronte