Everyday Miracles

Last night was "This Night" at LifeSong Church, an event for the ladies where we put together lovely tables, eat a nice meal and hear a speaker. The speaker for this particular event was a young lady who had been involved in a horrible car crash and made a miraculous recovery, and her main theme was how God was involved in all the details of that incident, and in fact He is in control of all the little details of our lives. It really made me pause and think about all the times that I marveled at some coincidence in my life and may have even acknowledged it as God's work, and then promptly forgot all about it. Someone has said, "Coincidence is God working miracles anonymously." Cheesy maybe, but true. I don't believe in fate, or karma, or whatever you may call it. God has His plans and He is most definitely out there working miracles in our lives every single day. Amy Grant sings about angels watching over us and how God keeps us safe in myriad ways that we will never know about. Here's a story that came to my mind while I was listening last night.

Back in January 2000, we were a family of three. Jon and I were on the way to getting pregnant and in fact, would get there about five months later. Dana was twelve years old and playing Upward basketball. We were driving a nice Ford Windstar van that we loved, although we had just replaced the transmission to the tune of $1800. Dana particularly loved that the van had backseat controls. In other words, when she sat in the second row, behind the driver, she had her own control panel for the radio, heat/air, etc. And that's where she usually sat: right behind the driver's seat. Because there were only three of us, we usually went everywhere together, including sports practices. On one January practice night, I had been sick with a stomach bug and sent Jon and Dana on without me. I laid around the house feeling awful for about an hour and then the phone rang. It was Jon and all he said was, "We've been in an accident. I have to cal 911. We're in front of the church." I had this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach as I drove to the scene of the accident. I will never forget topping the hill on Kingston Pike to see flashing lights, police cars, fire trucks and ambulances blocking the road. When I was finally able to get to the van, I found Dana and Jon standing outside it. The van was nearly folded in half. Jon later told me that when he turned left onto the road, a small black car with one headlight came speeding down the hill and t-boned them. The point of impact was just behind the driver's seat, where Dana sat. Except for THAT night. Because I stayed at home, Dana sat up front where she was safely behind an airbag when the accident occurred. The van was totalled but Jon and Dana walked away.

New Year's What?

I used to make New Year's resolutions. A few years ago I made one last resolution and that was to STOP making New Year's resolutions. It's a set-up for failure, in my opinion. Setting goals is all well and good, but you can do that at any time. Why not Easter resolutions, or Labor Day resolutions? I get that the new year is a good marker and a new beginning, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. Personally I'd rather make any so-called resolutions simple, somewhat vague and do-able. There's a greater chance for success that way.

I've been reflecting on what I did right in 2008 (a good number of things) and what I can improve on in 2009 (lots more things). I decided to try to improve certain aspects of my spiritual life this year so I made a list to remind me to focus. It's NOT a list of resolutions, mind you - just some phrases to keep me headed in the right direction. And since I'm working on my spiritual health you won't see any comments about weight or exercise on my list. Despite what I said in the first paragraph, I can be a bit of an over-achiever sometimes, therefore... my short little list of reminders (DON'T call them resolutions!) is in rhyme. Don't laugh. I worked hard on this! And remember that these are mostly referring to my relationship with God, although some could also apply to my other relationships too.

More time, less hurry;
More trust, less worry.

More listen, less talk;
More obey, less balk.

More faith, less see;
More of Him, less of me.

I reserve the right to add to this list as I think of new ones. Reminders, that is. Not resolutions.