Month: February 2019

ORDINARY MIRACLES

Several years ago, when my brother was living in California, he would always come home for Christmas. I remember that one year, we actually had some alone time, just him and me. Very rare was it that we got to steal alone time. We did spur of the moment things. We went to a favorite bookstore of mine and did some other shopping in the same area. We went to a local restaurant and ate cheesecake. Then, we went and saw a movie. Not just any movie but “Charlottes Web.” I am sure it looked strange for a 40-year-old man and a 50 something year old woman, going to see what is characterized as a children’s movie! My brother had always liked that book as a child and had always wanted to see the movie. So, like a big sister should do, I took him to see it.

The main song of the movie is “Ordinary Miracles” by Sarah McLachlan. Some of the lyrics say “…it is not unusual when everything is beautiful…it seems so exceptional that things work out after all…life is like a gift, they say wrapped up for you every day open up and find a way to give some of your own…the sky knows when it is time to snow…don’t need to teach a seed to grow…sun comes up and shines so bright and disappears again at night.”  The song is telling us that everyday wonders of nature are given to us by God, for us to enjoy. These are the day to day ordinary miracles we see. There is no need for actual miracles like Jesus and his apostles used in Bible times because we have everyday happenings and everyday wonders of nature and life. We are told in the New Testament, that miracles ceased when their purpose here on earth ceased. (1 Corinthians 13:8-10) Miracles are supernatural happenings, beyond nature, signs that helped the early Christians to believe in Jesus. John 20:30-31 reads “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”  The Christians in New Testament times had always gone by the laws of the Old Testament and here they were to believe that they were to follow the new laws Jesus and the apostles was teaching them. These miracles or signs were used to help these Christians to believe that Jesus was truly the Son of God and they were to follow His teachings. There are so many miracles that were done in the Old and New Testament to illustrate this. In Joshua the 10^th chapter, we read about the sun standing still. In John the 2^nd chapter, we read of Jesus’ first miracle, turning water into wine. These happenings were beyond nature. These miracles were not a normal part of what nature or life hands us every day. There are many more examples of miracles throughout the Bible. Today, we have the Bible and the Holy Spirit who helps us to understand the words that are spoken in the Bible. Through the Spirit, we have faith or belief that Jesus was really here on this earth and that He will fulfill His promise of an eternal life in heaven for us one day.

Several years ago, my dryer quit and my neighbor let me use her clothes line to hang out my clothes. One morning early, I had a load I needed to hang on the line. The dew was still on the grass and the sun was shining so brilliantly. As I got to the line, I almost ran into a huge cobweb. Usually this would have “freaked” me out and I would have run screaming back into my house, but this time, there was no spider to be found. Whew! The sun and the dew were making the cobweb just shimmer! It amazed me at how intricate the cobweb was. In the movie my brother and I saw, there is a scene when the spider, Charlotte, is making a web. She weaves up and down and around in circles, hanging by a thread of the web. How in the world does a spider have that much “thread” in that little body? Is that a miracle? Well, the answer is no, it is an ordinary happening-just an ordinary miracle. A day to day reminder from God that He is who He says He is.

It is amazing the technology that we have today! We wonder at the 3D images of a baby in the womb. We can see their little noses, count how many fingers and toes they have, the sex of the child, sometimes they are even sucking their thumbs! How can people today say that this is not a living human being-an innocent child? Are the intricate details of a baby in the womb a miracle? No, it is one of those every day, ordinary miracles!

While visiting my daughter, whose husband is in the Navy, we went to the ocean. I remember the powerful waves coming into shore, but yet the sound of them is so calming. I could feel peace within the power. Is the fact that these waves come up onto the beach a miracle? No. God once again is showing His power and the peace we can find in every day happenings, ordinary miracles.

Have you ever thought about the seasons? How fall, winter, spring & summer are always in the same order? Is that a miracle? No, it is every year happening, an ordinary miracle. There are so many other examples I could give. But the point here is that God does not have to use miracles today like He did in Bible times to help the people believe in Him. We are blessed today to have the words in the Bible and all of the ordinary miracles of nature and life that we witness each and every day.

So, the next time you start taking the ordinary happenings of each day or the ordinary beauty of nature for granted, stop and remember who has given those things to you. Stop your hectic life for a moment, take a deep breath and remember who gave these ordinary miracles to you. Thank Him and remember He is always surrounding us with the proof of His existence.  Psalm 143:5 reads “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your doings; I ponder the work of Your hands.”  Believe, have faith, in His power to work in our lives by all of the ordinary miracles we experience in each moment of each day! And by the way, watch out for those cobwebs. But when you do see one, look at the intricate details of the web and marvel at the greatness of God! Thank you, God, for the ordinary “miracles” we see each day!

Till next time!                                                     Keela

PATCHWORK LIVES

Sitting in that room with so many other sad faces, did not feel real. It was something that I had tried so hard to fix so we would not have to go to bankruptcy court. Because of medical bills, my husband, our attorney and I sat waiting to go into court. There were different ages present. Some had little children, others had canes. So many dreams dashed! Our son had taken us because it was downtown Kansas City and I have never been good about driving in that area with so many one-way streets. I remember sitting in his backseat and then in that room with all those people, feeling defeated-heart broken-embarrassed-so tired. What a sad dark memory!

On the other hand, I recently flew to meet my new granddaughter! What an amazing time her brothers, sister and I had. We played games, read books, played barbies, tickled and snuggled! On the plane trip there, I remember looking out the window and the landscape looked just like a patchwork quilt. The farmland was in squares and rectangles, showing the outline of their properties. Some of the squares and rectangles were dark, probably because of so many trees. Some of them were a lighter color and then there were some that just glistened in the sunlight. So many different shapes and colors, all beautifully intertwined to make an amazing picture from above.

My grandmother was an amazing seamstress making so many beautiful quilts! She created her quilts originally not for the beauty of them, but rather for warmth for her family to keep them protected from the cold. My mother had so many of those intricately designed quilts. Each one a different pattern, so colorful and so beautiful.  My grandmother created a special quilt for my one and only cousin, Keena, and I when we got married. (not the two of us, of course, but to our husbands ha!) She created bonnet girls holding an umbrella. She used old pieces of our mother’s dresses and used them to make the intricate details. Some of the material is made of dark colors, some are pinks and purples, and then some are bright red and beautifully patterned! When my mother passed away, my family got to have several of these quilts to cherish. I remember holding them close trying to cherish their warmth and love that she had sewn into them. One particular quilt was signed by all the women who were sitting at that quilt frame at that time. There are names of women I remember my grandmother talking about and of course, my grandmothers signature written in that patchwork thread. What amazing creations that will live forever thru the generations to hold close and feel the love my grandmother had put into them.

Our lives are like those fields and the patchwork quilts my grandmother made. We have dark days like I described above. Days that we remember with heartache. We would like to forget them, but they are engraved within our hearts and minds, threatening to bring us down and make us feel hopeless. Then, there are the days that are normal. Days that we go along with our normal routine. Days that nothing our of the ordinary happens. We are just living life the best we can. Then, there are overwhelmingly amazing days! I remember the day I got married with so much joy. The day my children and grandchildren were born. In 2018, I was blessed with a new granddaughter and a new great-granddaughter. (That can happen, when your oldest and youngest are ten years apart!) I always remember when I get to the airport and am walking down a long hallway, what joy to see my grandchildren running towards me calling Nana, Nana! What days of happiness and joy!

All these days create, our life story. We have dark days. We have normal days. We have bright happy days. These all create the patchwork of our lives. God helps us through the dark times to put one step in front of the other. He holds us up when we do not think we can take anything happening to us and it is all trying to knock us down. God is by our side when our normal days happen. Days like today when we are doing the laundry, changing another diaper, reading our daily devotion or driving to work. Then He is with us during those joyful days. Giving us sunshine for our journey on this earth!

God weaves all of these types of days into the “patchwork” of our lives. He uses us, through those days, to work for His purposes for us on this earth. Romans 8:28 reads “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to all those who are called according to His purpose.” Paul, the author of this New Testament book, was telling the Christians that all of the trials they were facing, God was using them for their final good and for the purposes that God had for each Christian. Our trials, our normal days, our happy days, work together to form our future, where we will spend eternity. Our dark days will help us to help someone who is going through the same trial. 2 Corinthians 1:4 reads, speaking of God, “who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort which we ourselves are comforted by God.” We cannot truly comfort another unless we have experienced the same trial. Our normal daily routine, is also a part of this patchwork. Philippians 4:13 tells us “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  God is right by our side, no matter what is happing in our day. He gives us strength for our journey. God is with us, making those bright patterns in our patchwork, when we are happy. Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that there is a time for everything. Verse 4 says “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.”

There is a poem I have always liked. It is call “The Weaver.”

My life is but a weaving

Between my Lord and me,

I cannot choose the colors

He worketh steadily.

Oftimes He weaveth sorrow,

And I in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper

And I, the underside.

Not till the loom is silent

And the shutters cease to fly,

Shall God unroll the canvas

And explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful

In the Weaver’s skillful hand,

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned.

-Author Unknown_

Let’s pretend that when we go to heaven, God rolls out a beautiful quilt representing our lives here on earth. We look down on it, just like I was looking out the window of the airplane, and we see all the dark patches, all the regular looking patches and all the bright cheerful patches of that quilt. All of the patches are weaved together in such a way that we see an amazing work of art! That amazing work of art represents our lives, stitched together by God.

God used that dark day I talked about at the beginning, to humble me. To help me realize I cannot fix everything, but I can use it to help someone else. Help someone else know that they are not the only one having problems in their lives. That bankruptcy led to us loosing our home to foreclosure. There were thirteen stairs to get into the front door. As my husband’s illness progressed, there was no way he could have climbed those stairs. The yard was large and I would have to mow and keep the foliage from climbing and intertwining within the fence. The house was getting older and would need a lot of expensive upkeep. Looking back, I can see that God was in the middle of that dark time, knowing what our future held and what we needed in our future!

Just remember the next day that is full of trouble, the next day that is a normal day or when we have the happiest day; that God is working those days together for our good. No matter what type of day we have, God uses them for His purposes. God is weaving together the patchwork of our lives!

Till next time! May God be with you in your daily patchwork life!                          Keela