Third Thursday Thoughts: Miracles

Today I am participating in a blog hop with Hearts at Home. On the third Thursday of every month, I have the opportunity to write on a specific topic and link up with other bloggers and Jill Savage. This Third Thursday’s Thoughts are prompted by the question, “Have you experienced any miracles in your life?”

I cannot tell you how desperately I wish I could tell a story here about the way God healed my dad from cancer… but I can’t. While my dad is no longer suffering from cancer, it was not through the miracle I had hoped and prayed for. Dad is whole now only because he is with Jesus.

Just 3 months later, light came in a dark moment that will forever remind me that God truly works in miraculous ways. Unprepared to face death all over again, we said goodbye to my unconscious father-in-law. The next morning, fully prepared to see his lifeless body and begin funeral preparation, I walked my girls in to be greeted by their Grandpa’s smile as he spoke their names. Our Heavenly Father graced us with a miracle of bonus days to cherish before our final goodbye.

There is another moment, when I think of miracles, that my mind immediately flashbacks to. When I was a kid, our family dogs went missing. After 4 long days, my family gathered around the dining room table to pray for their return. The miracle of the reunion with our cherished pets was a lesson in the power of prayer that I’ve carried with me through life.

While these moments remind me that our God truly does work miracles, I am impressed with the reality that the biggest miracle in my life may not even resonate as a miracle to anyone other than my husband and me. Every time we hear another heartbreaking story of a marriage falling apart, I am reminded to lift up a prayer of thanksgiving for the miracle God performed in mine.

The first five years of our marriage were plain hard. Married just a year after my graduating class’s pomp and circumstance from high school, I heard the whispers of the mistake we were making. We dated for a short 6 months followed by a quick 6 month engagement. It was a union that, to outsiders, seemed to happen way too quickly. In the years to come, I cast blame all too easily on my 7-year-older husband for all of my unhappiness in our marriage.

Young and insecure, I entered our relationship with a broken heart that hadn’t had time to heal. All of my friends were enjoying the prime of their college life as I played house with this man. While he was my best friend on that day of wedded bliss, I couldn’t even convince myself a couple years into it that someone hadn’t held a gun to my head. It really is sad how all the reasons we choose our spouse get blurred when the going gets tough.

Financial stress didn’t help matters much and our biggest problem has always been miscommunication. Adjusting to combining our families of origin and all the traditions and expectations that came with it was overwhelming. Depression took over my soul as we found ourselves living as roommates, all the while, I thought, putting on a happily married show in public.

A friend of mine invited us to FamilyLife's Weekend to Remember. We went having no idea what to expect. I don’t remember much of that weekend outside of the comment my friend made in a moment when the two of us were alone. “You don’t seem to like him much.” I was caught off guard and my response was a flood of tears. It was time to face the truth.

My husband and I started getting real with one another. We shared the hidden secrets of our hearts. The fears of coexistence, for life in a marriage, forever lacking the passionate love we so desperately desired, came to the surface. We made changes in our lives but it was a gradual process that I cannot even pinpoint today. While I cannot give anyone a step-by-step process as to how to save a marriage, I do know God worked a miracle in mine.

In a small book entitled God Things Come in Small Packages, I read words that penetrated my heart of stone. “God often has to do open-heart surgery in us and replace a calloused heart with one that trusts and risks everything for the sweet reward of love and life.” I remember sitting as tears flooded my eyes and I surrendered my heart to God’s plan for my life.

I quit focusing on everything that was so blaringly in need of change with my husband and I began to allow God to change me. The One-Who-Performs-Miracles once again had access to my hardened heart. Slowly, I began to feel again. Little by little, I was able to see the positive in my husband as I took my focus off of him and placed my focus on who God wanted me to become.

While God transformed me, I had no idea that my husband was doing anything to work on our marriage. Years later, I learned that my husband petitioned God to save our marriage. As I was falling deeper and deeper into darkness, my husband was fasting and begging God for a miracle. This man I married because of his love for God, captured my heart with his response to our deteriorating marriage.

We will be married for 15 years this summer and I am continually reminded that the survival of my marriage was nothing short of a miracle. I can honestly say today that a life without my husband is not one I can imagine nor would I want to. We overcame a failing union because God performs miracles.

In the pit, God took my heart of stone and gave me life again. God works miracles all the time. Sometimes we just need to be willing to open our hearts to allow the miracles to happen and open our eyes to be witness.

“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” ~ Ezekiel 36:26 (NLT)

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Our Firm Foundation

I remember the songs we sang as kids in Sunday School engraining the truths of God’s Word in our hearts and minds. Luke 6:47-49 was embedded into our souls with a little song as we motioned with our fists. “The wise man built his house upon the rock. The wise man built his house upon the rock. The wise man built his house upon the rock and the rains came tumbling down. The rains came down and the floods went up. The rains came down and the floods went up. The rains came down and the floods went up. And the house on the rock stood firm.” It was fun to sing about the foolish man because we were able to slap our hands hard together declaring that his house upon the sand went “splat”! However, the message of the song was clear: the only foundation firm enough to build your life upon is the Lord Jesus Christ.

In today’s world, where God is only acknowledged in flippant phrases or cursing, it can be lonely to establish this foundation not only for our children but for ourselves. When “what’s right for you is right for you” and “what’s right for me is right for me”, how can anyone stand firm on anything these days?

Who determines what is right or wrong in any given situation? Author Josh McDowell in his book, Right from Wrong states that, “There is an absolute righteous God and we must compare our attitudes and actions to Him and His word to determine whether our actions are right or wrong. His Word gives us specific and absolute guidelines as to the rightness or wrongness of our attitudes and actions.”

It is extremely important to embrace strong moral standards as a parent. As Carol Kuykendall in Five Star Families stresses, “We can’t pass on something we ourselves don’t have”.

“The most powerful tool [we possess as a positive mom] is holding God’s values in higher esteem than the world’s” Karol Ladd reminds us in The Power of a Positive Mom. “The standards set forth in Scripture are not just a set of rules and regulations, but instructions for a joyful and fulfilling life.” ~ Karol Ladd

Running and Relying

I'm in my final week of training before the Rockdale Ramblin 10K... and I've got a head cold. Thankfully, mileage the week before a race always tapers. Now, I'm just hopeful I can breathe come Saturday. (Not to mention my request of God for no rain just for the hour of the race - a wet 50 degrees just won't be fun).

I managed to get up and out of bed first thing in the morning to get my miles in both days that I needed to this week. Monday and today I had "short" runs of 3 and 2 miles. Both days I found myself praying for God to help me get through the run (actually I pray this prayer every time I run). As I continued to send up the same prayer over and over again, I came to a realization.

I run because it helps me feel better about myself. If I'm honest, the main reason I run is probably because I get to eat a little bit more without putting on more pounds. Currently, I've been running because I cannot complete a 10K without training. With the race almost behind me, I am faced with the question of whether or not I will make this a habit or go back to making excuses once again.

The realization I was hit with as I cried out to God was that I need to run because it draws me closer to Him. I can't recall a time I've run where I haven't spent time in prayer. Even when it is simply a cry for the run to end. Running teaches me to rely on Him. The discipline required as well as the aches and pains and my feeling of defeat remind me that I need to keep my eyes on God. While running is a small discipline I am learning, it reminds me of a bigger picture.

I'll continue running because it reminds me of my need to rely on God... for everything.

Soldier of God by Nikelle Carlson

As I was sorting through papers today, I found "A Story of Being God's Friend: SOLDIER OF GOD" written by Nikelle.

She writes:

Dedicated to Dad, God's best friend

Being a best friend to God is like having a party for your whole life. Whenever you become God's friend, the angels are having a party for you. I am a friend of God, and I know what it feels like. I know that I am protected. I chose to admit and believe and it feels great. Now I want to tell the world about God. Now, when I'm in big tests, like I'm in the ISAT, I know there is nothing to worry about. God is your master, and you need to obey his word. Pray for people you don't know and be friends to your enemies. Do not use God's name in vain. Follow the ten commandments. Obey your parents. Become a christian, just like me. Then you will become a Soldier of God.

It's a wonderful surprise to get a peak into my daughter's heart as I'm sorting through papers.

Running the Race

I’m signed up to run a 10K in less than 2 weeks. I’ve kept on track with the 8-week training schedule but I’m still anxious. There was a time in my life that I thought completing a mile would be impossible, let alone “the toughest 10K in the Midwest”. The race seems rather intimidating but I will stay on course and finish the race.

Running any kind of miles is never truly at the top of my priority list. I dread getting on the treadmill or even going outside. That’s why I made the commitment to this race. Personally, I need a goal to strive for or I all too easily make excuses to blow off exercise entirely. Setting a goal gives me something specific to aim for.

One thing I realize as I’m running is that I tend to focus too much on the path directly in front of me. If I’m on the treadmill, my eyes watch the numbers work ever so slowly up to the moment I can declare completion. If I’m on a trail, I watch for obstacles to avoid and stay overly focused on where I am. When I’m tired, my eyes naturally go to my feet. I have learned that I need to be intentional with focusing on where I need to be instead of where I am. The run doesn’t feel quite as overwhelming that way. When I choose a focal point on the course ahead of me, it’s easier to persevere to the end. Envisioning the finish line is the best way to stay on course.

Running has helped me to understand life a little bit better. I now have tangible pictures of perseverance in my mind because of the endurance training I have completed. When I think about the mess my life is in at a current moment, I remember that the race is often easier if I keep my focus on the finish line. I can feel like I am drowning in life when I focus on the here and now. It is only when I keep my eyes on Jesus and eternity that the intimidation of today dissipates and I can continue the race.

“We are surrounded by a great cloud of people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back. Let us look only to Jesus, the One who began our faith and who makes it perfect. He suffered death on the cross. But he accepted the shame as if it were nothing because of the joy that God put before him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God's throne. Think about Jesus' example. He held on while wicked people were doing evil things to him. So do not get tired and stop trying.” – Hebrews 12:1-3 (NCV)

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” – 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)

“I do not mean that I am already as God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal, but I continue trying to reach it and to make it mine. Christ wants me to do that, which is the reason he made me his. Brothers and sisters, I know that I have not yet reached that goal, but there is one thing I always do. Forgetting the past and straining toward what is ahead, I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to the life above.” – Philippians 3:12-14 (NCV)

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.” - 2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NLT)