Where miracles do happen.......

I believe in miracles.

I always have, you know, and nothing will change that. There are too many happening all around us. All we have to do is look a little more carefully, or closely. Some may be small, and some will be mega. It is all relative, of course, but to the recipient of those miracles, they are all super special.

Today one happened to me. You see, we think things are miracles when what we never dreamed could happen does indeed happen. This could be a demonstration of lack of faith, I suppose. After all, Someone once said "Ask and you shall receive". The trouble with that is that you have to really truly believe that ALL things are possible. And I confess that sometimes I think that some things are too mundane to consult higher powers about. That I can handle things myself.

I am certifiable.

So today I had an email from one of the bureaucrats dealing with just one of the multitude of challenges I have been facing, asking me to call her. You know how your heart plummets? Yes. Like that. At the same time I got the email, I had another - my daily devotional from the Purpose Driven Life people. (Their current series is wonderful, and I really recommend you all subscribe.) So I read that one first. Just as well.

Before I made the call, I had a little chat with the most patient of Fathers. He needs every ounce of patience when dealing with me, believe me. Then I made the call. The impossible happened. The kind and gentle bureaucrat (yes, they do indeed exist) told me that on compassionate grounds, they were making the problem disappear. And I sat there in the garden and wept. For my lack of faith. For forgetting that all things are possible. With relief. And when she ended the call, she said to me that she hoped that this marked a turn in the way life was happening for me.

All things are possible. We just have to believe. And if the small things are taken care of, just think what He can do with the big things. The mind boggles. Today. Tomorrow. Any time. It was a miracle for me. And I am more thankful than I can ever say.

Faith should colour every minute of our days. And nights too. And the smallest of problems are equally as important as the huge ones to Him. We just need to believe. And trust. I know this, of course. I just tend to think I can handle things better. Hahahahahahha. Proud. Stubborn. Obstinate. Fixer. Pig-headed. That is me. I am 56 years old and still need to learn the hard way. As I said, I must be certifiable.

But today, a miracle happened, and I will not forget.

Earlier, David, Jean and I went for a walk along the river up the valley. It was a tough walk for me, and I have been wiped out ever since. Just before we reached the place where we could get the bus back, we heard the sound of rushing water nearby. We walked on, because the bus was coming, and then I stopped and called to them. Shall we forget this bus and follow the sounds of the water? We decided to do just that. And if we hadn't, we would never have found one of the most beautiful spots on earth.

Water cascading down the rocks into a series of small rock pools where we could sit, and dip our feet in icy glacier water. So peaceful and so beautiful. No-one else was around when we got there. We sat for a while, and just drank in the perfection of the place. So quiet. Of course I took photos. Many. I haven't downloaded any yet, but I will get round to that sometime. Soon, I promise. All I can say is that I wish you could see what we saw. Could breath in that air, and hear the water tumbling over the massive rocks. See the sun glistening on the spray. Feel the coldness of the water. See the clarity of the water. A little clearing in the forest at the base of the mountain.

We have promised ourselves that we will go back as often as possible. Maybe not walking, though. How many more exquisite places will we find, I wonder? The beauty which is hidden all around just stuns me every time we uncover another glorious place. I wish you could all be here to share it.

So today has been a good day. And I have learned that even bureaucrats have hearts sometimes. That faith can indeed move mountains. That beauty lies down hidden paths- we just have to look. That faith applies to small things too. That a God who can create such beauty for me to enjoy is a God who sees to small things too. That miracles happen every day.

And that the power struggle I continue to wage by trying to do it all myself has to stop. For a control freak, letting go was never going to be easy, was it. One battle over, and I never had to fight. You have no idea how great the relief is or how thankful I am.

Remind me, please, of what I have said, in case I forget. All things are indeed possible.