Miracles & Blessings

Today has been a good day.
To start off, I got to sleep in this morning. Woo hoo!
I just recently quit my job. I had been working as a sales person for a tuxedo rental company. I worked 6 days a week, and I'd been with the company for the past 3 years. However, I've been working in retail since... wow, let me think. I started in 1997, and only took one year off to go to college. That would be 7+ years. Wow! That's a long time, but praise the Lord, I start my new job on Monday. Now I don't have to work weekends anymore. Yeah!

Anyway, I just really realized today how much the Lord has blessed my life and the lives of others, and that He does miracles every day, though many times we don't realize them or dismiss them. For example, A good friend of mine, Taylor had to have surgery on Friday to have a giant cyst removed from one of her ovaries. When they did an x-ray of it the week before it was the size of a lemon, but when they actually opened her up they found it was bigger than the size of a pear. I was actually in the hosptial room with her when her doctor showed her the picture of it and my mouth dropped open. I could not believe how huge this thing was. What also worried the doctor prior to the surgery was not only the size of the cyst but also he found that it had completely surrounded and encased the ovary. At first he feared that he would not be able to save it, but God performed a miracle, when the doctor made a small cut on the cyst and it practically fell off of it. The doctor was able to remove all of the cyst and her ovary is perfectly fine. The Lord totally answered prayers that day. She left the hosptial a few hours ago and is resting at home.

Another miracle that the Lord is showing me is through another friend of mine, Tanya (27), who is battling anorexia. She has been coming to my church now for a few months, and I've been able to form a friendship with her through a Bible Study, Believing God that a small group from our Sunday school class is going through. She is about 5'3 and weighs about 59 lbs. When she first started coming to the Heights, she was barely weighing 54. I'm so thankful that the Lord brought her to our group. She is a walking miracle. She will tell you that it is the Lord who has kept her alive and is giving her the will to live and to get better. Though she still struggles with maintaining a healthy lifestyle, the Lord is continuing to transform her mind and her heart. He's helping her to realize that He thinks she is beautiful and special no matter what she's done and that He will never give up on her no matter what she's become. As I've spent time with her, she has really touched my life. She takes nothing for granted anymore. She reminded me tonight while we were having dinner that every flower that grows is a miracle. All we can do is plant the seed and tend the earth, but it's the Lord who makes the flower grow and bloom. Every snowflake is a miracle because each tiny speck is unique and totally different from any others that fall from the sky... just like you and me.

And as for God showering down His blessings... wow, where do I begin. He allowed me to wake up this morning, to live, and experience another beautiful day. He continues giving me air to breathe. "He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to my God." (Psalm 40:3) He gave me patience to deal with some annoying family members. He provided me enough money in my paycheck to take care of my bills. He showed me that I have friends who love me, care about me, and want to spend time with me. And there are so many more, I could tell you about... I like how the apostle John put it when he wrote, "And I suppose that if all the other things that Jesus did were written down, the whole earth could not contain the books." (John 21:25) That's how I feel. Like all the books in the world couldn't contain all the blessings He has given me.

What amazes me even more is that God doesn't play favorites. He loves you and adores you just as much as He does about me. And He wants so much to pour out His blessings upon your life, but you have to allow Him to have control over your life. You've got to step down as the Boss and let Him take the reigns. I know that's not easy. I can testify that turning over control of your life to God is not always painless, but it sure is worth it. He is so much Bigger than we try to make Him. He is so much Stronger than we could ever imagine. He is the God of wonders and of miracles.