Little Miracles

It is always stirring to witness a miracle first-hand...

With the sweet changing of these seasons, I find that there are more changes full of greater sweetness than I have ever known in my young life. Miracles are captivating things, but especially when they come in the package of an infant...

I will never understand the ways of life, or the reasons God allows what He does, like when a couple living in immorality will get "an oops" and choose to kill their child, while a couple in the loving embrace of their Savior will hope and pray for a baby for years, but one never comes.

God is not a small God, I find constantly, and now we have the pleasure to marvel over one such fascinating little miracle that proves His mystery and His tender faithfulness. We see women in the Scriptures like Hannah and Sarah, who longed and prayed for children, but it hits us with the force of incredible joy and surprise when their stories come to life before us with the women and men that we love.

From before I was born, my mom's youngest brother lived with us, being young enough to bond like a brother to my two sisters and me. We have an attachment that draws us closer than all the rest of the relatives in our big, extended family. We always knew that Brian's children would be as much ours, as our own nieces and nephews will be one day. He and his wife (now a sister-in-law to us, rather than an aunt-- *smile*) have been married three and a half years and been praying for this baby for almost all of them. With her being in her late twenties and him now thirty, they are eager to get their family started. Through the heartbreak and trials they have faced trying for a baby, we have felt dearly for them. Praying ardently, and trying hard to hold onto hope without getting discouraged, we have waited and hoped right along with them.

Just when I was beginning to wonder if God's plans do not meet up with our hopes, I got a phone call on my birthday from Brian... our little miracle has come into being. Now we are sewing baby blocks for the newest addition to the family, whose arrival will be in late December!

We are in restless and full excitement for her. She is nothing but a miracle, and will come into this world with more love and affection than any little girl could probably need! So, we are sewing blocks for her, just like the kinds we used to have when we were kids. A very sentimental gift, especially for the brother-uncle who used to throw them at us girls. (*grin*)

I am swept away by the enduring charm (unlike our deceiving human kinds) of the Father's miracles. When I see them unfold right before my eyes, lifting up the hearts of those that I love, spraying our family with the brightness of innocence, anticipation and joy... I am stirred.

~Brianna

There is a song that speaks of how the Lord is more faithful than the changing of seasons. It comes to mind for me every autumn. As I look at the changing colors of the trees, it seems that even they tell of His faithfulness.

The trees seem to come to life in the spring, budding tenderly like a newborn baby. There is a sweetness and a faint warmth in the air, filled with promise and hope. Then it gradually blooms into summer, when the trees seem fully alive. Seemingly at the pinnacle of their youth, they are full and rich.

Then comes autumn. It seems to me like a masquerade. The trees look a little bit older and seemingly wiser (if trees can appear to be wise), yet they put on their masks, knowing that soon they will be stripped away. Their masks are colors of all different shades. Some are bright and beautiful, while others are gentle and intoxicating. They form an amazing background, ushering all of creation into a season of preparation. There is such a rich, comforting scent in the air, and the leaves fall to the ground, dancing to the end they know is there, embracing it with arms spread wide as they twirl gracefully towards it.

And then it comes. The season when the trees have shed their masks, and are laid open, bare and vulnerable. They seem weak against the bitter cold, with no warmth of leaves to protect them. And then it seems that they have died, covered in a lovely white grave. But they are not dead. They are just resting. Waiting.

And just when it seems the wait will never end, the dawning of a new spring is born. The trees are awakened and come alive again, and so embark upon another adventure of the seasons. And it continues, just as it did before, and thousands of times before that. It is a faithful change that can be expected. But...compared to our Maker and His faithfulness, the seasons seem as unpredictable and unfaithful as the wind. For He is more faithful than the changing of the seasons. He is more faithful than the morning sun which rises every day without fail. But, even the sunlight can be masked with clouds, covering our view of it, hiding its brilliance, sometimes seeming like it's not there at all.

But nothing can stop or hinder the faithfulness of the Most High God.

He is faithful in full force, for always.

~Shalea

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,

Your faithfulness to the skies.

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,

Your justice like the great deep...

How priceless is Your unfailing love!

I will declare that Your love stands firm forever,

that You established Your faithfulness in heaven itself.

-Psalm 36:5-7, 89:2

Overture

Living in the simplicity and peacefulness of the country life, one would be surprised to hear the crazy tales we have to tell. From a curly-haired little dog who had a habit of defying death, to our deep musings about our Creator and the life He created us for, we come to share some of what He has done in our lives, and perhaps by doing so pass on some of His abundant blessings.
By His love,
Shalea and Brianna