February 21: Fishing for Us

This afternoon, many people were out and about around the lake, including several fishermen. From what I've heard, fishing in our lake is frustrating because it is unlikely to get a bite. That being said, I noticed one guy in particular who seemed determined to catch a fish in one area of the lake. I wondered to myself why he didn't give up, how he wasn't bored yet, and why he continued to pursue the same area, and I realized that Jesus references himself as the Fisher of Men. As such, he must have had opportunities to give up on us because of frustration or boredom, but he didn't, and he has called us to not give up on others either. How inspiring and encouraging! We have not been given up on; God is continually pursuing us, no matter how long it takes for us to bite at the line.

January 19: Faith of a Mustard Seed

This afternoon, I was walking my dog when another dog came running through the neighbor's yard towards us. I tried to check his tags and get the phone number/address from them, but he continued up the hill and was out of sight pretty quickly. I went up the hill, assuming it was unlikely that I'd see him, but keeping an eye out.

Within a few minutes, a woman in her car slowed and asked if I'd seen her dog. I explained to her that I had and that I would keep looking. I continued up the hill.

Just as I was turning around, she passed back by me again; I notified her that I hadn't seen him, but got her phone number so I could call her if I did. I proceeded to walk home, and as I was approaching my house, I silently prayed for God to send the dog, Charlie, home. My dog, Sadie, and I crossed the street and began to walk down our driveway when she froze and looked back; Charlie was barreling down the hill towards our driveway. I tied Sadie to the tree to get her out of the way and called Charlie over, thanking God for his quick response. I called his owners and soon he was back at his home.

Wow. I'm reminded of the verse that tells us faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. I didn't move a mountain today, but God strengthened my belief and trust in Him. We must trust, even if it is only a tiny bit, and he will provide.

January 16: Open Your Eyes

This morning, I biked past a yard where a tree chipper was working, projecting wood chip dust into the air. Before I’d realized it, I had gone right through the cloud of dust, getting tiny wood pieces in my eye. Fortunately, I was close to home; unfortunately, my eye felt very scratched and contaminated with minuscule wood pieces. 

I did what I could to manage the discomfort, and continued with my day. 

Then, when I was out walking the dog, I said a quick, not really heartfelt prayer; something along the lines of, “Dear God, please heal my eye,” not thinking much of it and continued walking the dog. About 30 minutes later, my eye began to water a lot, but within a few minutes was pain free, feeling completely normal again. Wow! It was a miracle! Thank you, God. I opened my eyes wider, looked around, and saw what a beautiful day it was. Then, straight ahead of me, hanging from a tree branch was the headband that I’d lost and given up looking for last night. Sometimes, God has to cleanse our vision for us to see what’s right in front of us. Often times, we don’t realize what we have until it’s missing; God’s blessings surround us every moment of every day; open your eyes and look around. 

January 14: The Electrician

Earlier this week, we had an electrical problem in our house--something had shorted out, and a significant portion of our house was not receiving electricity and it couldn't be solved at the circuit breaker, so we called our handy electrician. The problem was quickly recognized and solved with an easy solution, and everyone moved on with life fully lit. But in the couple of days of darkness, I had a realization:

Speaking figuratively, we know that our lives and others' are filled with many light and dark moments. Sometimes, we just have to bump into enough walls to find the light switch, but other times, it seems too difficult or too risky to turn on the light; we must call for help. The electrician comes, shows us the problem, rewires the broken circuit and helps us fix it. Soon, we're back in the light. But what if we didn't have that electrician? What if we were so used to living in darkness, we didn't yearn for light, and no one knew what we were missing?

Stay with me. Let's say that God is light, Jesus our electrician, and we, through the Spirit, the wires. When the light of God was disappearing, Jesus came, rewired the system and got it working again, implementing an expanding circuit of wires, capable of spreading light throughout the world. Jesus continues to make an impact, to plant sources of light, as long as us wires don't malfunction. Who do you know that doesn't know the electrician? Who is living in darkness because he hasn't found working wires?

We are the light. Shine bright; you never know whose darkness you're penetrating.

January 5: Group Effort

Today, as I was walking my dog (what a surprise!), I came across a mom and her son struggling with car troubles. Their car had stalled, so they were working on pushing it into the playground parking lot. I stopped, saw he needed help pushing the minivan up the slight incline, and went over to help. We started pushing so that the car at least was moving (very slowly), but before we knew it, a runner passing by came over and started helping too! In no time, we got the car up into a couple of parking spaces. I'd call that a neighborhood--living out the same selfless acts of kindness as Jesus did on this Earth.

January 1: Happy New Year!

This time last year, I made the resolution to search for God in every day. A year's worth of "God-sightings" have left me with a stronger faith and trust in God and a better idea of how God is working in my life, but there is plenty of room for continued growth. In 2016 I know God will continue to reveal himself, so I will continue to blog though maybe less frequently so that it does not become a checkbox on a todo list, but a time of reflection and appreciation.

I hope that in the next year you also are given many "God-sightings" and renewed vision of all the blessings in your life.