As the year comes to a close, many of us are thinking of how we can improve or change things in the upcoming year. Some of us will write down a list of goals or resolutions. I know some people that choose a focus word for their upcoming year and then work around that. No matter how we go about it, most of us see a fresh year as a fresh start and SO many are ready to put 2020 in the rear view!

Something about a shiny new year brings hope and possibilities. We somehow lose sight of the fact that EVERY DAY is sparkly and new!! We don’t have to wait for a new year to have new hope and possibility. Quick question: Do you believe in miracles?

I hope you said yes. If you said no, just keep an open mind for a moment. Truth be told, every single morning, when we open our eyes, we are actually experiencing one of many miracles. The miracle of a new day. A new chance. A beating heart and breath in our lungs that many people in the ground would have given anything to have one more day of.

Do you think that miracles only involve a crazy situation in which all odds are against something and then… BOOM! the situation drastically changes and everyone says, “It’s a miracle!” Yes, I do believe in those types of miracles too. In fact, I was able to see a first hand miracle this year with one of my best friends that was truly life altering. A LOT of faith and a LOT of prayers went into that situation and God showed up in a MAJOR way! When you are blessed enough to see a drastic, life saving miracle, all perspectives about God and our human lives are rocked in a beautiful way.

Truth is, we each experience miracles every day of our lives. Gravity, weather, how fruit and veggies grow, animal/insect/plant life, the human body, the tides of the ocean, the sun/moon/planets, are just a few examples of miracles in our lives every single day. Those are miracles gifted to us all. But if you dare to look back on your life, you will see miracles large and small sprinkled throughout your life literally EVERYWHERE!

My prayer is that we never miss the multitude of miracles in our lives every single day.

So… what if we all choose the word “MIRACLE” for our 2021? Maybe this year, despite our personal circumstances, health, finances, injustice, etc., we can just choose to see the miracles in our every day. What if we can choose to wake up fresh every morning and look up to our glorious Father and praise him for another chance at life? And then dare to live in the joy that comes with receiving a miracle?

I think of so many occasions in the Bible when the apostles and other men of faith were beaten and thrown into prison or somehow made to suffer at the hands of man. And yet, they remained joyful. JOYFUL! 2020 gave us various degrees of “lockdown” which felt at times like a prison, even though it was SO far from it. For some of us, just the inconvenience of it all was enough to send us into a tizzy. Quarantine, masks, entertainment closed, gyms and schools closed, selfish hoarders and the infuriating search for toilet paper… it was enough to make us want to scream! And then for others, the pandemic proved much more severe… job loss, eviction, food bank lines, poor health, lengthy isolated hospital stays, death of loved ones.

Can we say that we stayed joyful? Personally, it took WORK to see the blessings when my way of life was disturbed. It took intentionality to anchor in closer to God and choose to see the miracles that I was actually experiencing. When I chose to see, I was humbled with how much God was truly blessing me and my family all along. Was everything ideal? No. But the miracles were there. And in turn, once we see how many miracles are truly happening in our own lives, it becomes so much easier to then be part of a miracle in someone else's life!

What I know for sure is this: If we look for God, if we ask God to give us eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to understand… WE WILL EXPERIENCE MIRACLES IN 2021 AND BEYOND!

Friend: May God bless you and keep you, make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace!

Stay encouraged!

Numbers 6:24-27, Philippians 4:4-7, Romans 8:18, Acts 16:22-25