Recently, in some sort of 'church circle' a familiar conversation came up. Most of us have taken part in a similar conversation at some point. It went something like this:
"Things were so much easier in biblical times. I mean, God was all over the place with miracles: parting seas, turning water to wine, raising the dead. How are we supposed to hear God speak to us when he doesn't even have a Facebook account? C'mon, Jesus, send me a burning bush!"
Ok, maybe it wasn't quite like that, but you get the point. I admit I have traveled down this line of thought many times. So, I decided to consult the book. The Bible, that is.
" 1Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. " Exodus 3: 1-4 KJV
Now we've all heard the story of Moses and the burning bush but I think our memory often fails us. I know I have tended to think of it as Moses minding his business one day when all of a sudden he hears a loud bellowing voice saying, "Hey, Moses! Over here, in this bush. It's God. Come here so I can talk to you." It sounds so silly to write it out like that but it's also silly for us to minimize scripture that way.
I am learning that miracles really are occurring in my life every day. But, like Moses, I must turn aside to see them. I think many times God is trying to speak to us in the 'every-day' by making things just a little different, or a little special, or a little out of place but if we are not looking for him or never take the time to be still and know that he is God- we might miss it. The Lord spoke to Moses after he turned aside.
So, I'm trying to take note of the miracles in my life. I've compiled a list of just a few of the 'burning bushes' I've encountered this last year.
**A mini-vacation/ weekend alone with my greatly missed husband, is a miracle **
**When the pouring rain stops, literally, long enough for me to get both girls out of the car and inside the building before it pours again, is a miracle (this has happened twice)**
**When you get (somewhat) unexpected orders to pick up and move with the Army when you thought you still had months and you're on maternity leave and you call your boss in tears who, instead of getting angry or thinking you've been dishonest, reaches out with love, wishes you well, misses you and prays for your journey, it's a miracle**
**When a 23 month old sits patiently through 5 doctors appointments for her sister, it's a miracle**
**When your baby wakes in the middle of the night very sick and you need to take her to the ER and you call family to rush over so that one of them can stay with your older child and the other can go with you so you're not alone, it's a miracle**
**When you go to your new church for the very first time and one woman in particular is very friendly and really reaches out and welcomes you, it's a miracle. When that woman turns out to be married to someone in the military who's gone on deployment and has two children the same age as yours and knows exactly how you're feeling, that's really a miracle. And THEN when you find out that same woman lives on the same street as the house you just bought; who can deny that's a miracle?**
**When you're feeling overwhelmed with emotions and responsibility because your spouse is gone and you really don't think you can change one more diaper and a friend calls you out of the blue to say HI and offer some needed encouragement, it's a miracle**
**When your baby has a clean urine culture, that's a miracle**
**When your toddler is willing to let you pile groceries on her in the cart because she's not big enough to walk beside you in the store and you really need lots of stuff and she doesn't complain or throw anything on the floor, it's a miracle**
I know I'm leaving out so many things but these are just a few that come to mind right now. I'm so thankful for the miracles performed in my life, both directly and through others who have acted on my behalf.
I wonder, if there are miracles going on in your life today?
After we finished our treat she played in their indoor playland. She loves it so much. She's still not brave enought to climb up high and go through the tunnels and slide but she loves exploring the ground-level stuff and just running around being silly.
