It never ceases to amaze me...

On an almost daily basis, I can see the Hand of God at work in my life. I see it in the faces of my children and wife when they laugh, in the little gifts and surprises that continually come our way through out the year, and in the times when crisis looms and everything seems so hopeless... but suddenly your prayers are answered and your miracle is delivered.

We haven't done much laughing here over the last year, and the little "gifts" sometimes seemed few and far between... but when the chips are down and everything is on the line, and you can't find the means to even keep milk on the table for the kid's breakfast cereal, then the miracle happens. No sooner do you say to yourself "Self, there is nothing more you can do... except trust that God will provide a way for you to get through each and every day that comes along."... then you see it happen, each and every day that comes along. Those are the sort of miracles that I find the most fascinating.

How many of those miracles have we had, and simply dismissed as coincidence or happy chance? Good luck? The laws of probability finally catching up with us? Why are we so prone to ignore the possibility that it is, indeed, the Hand of God working to answer our most desperate prayers? All He asks is that we have faith... simple, child-like trust in His Love and Compassion for us, His most precious creations... and nothing we truly need will ever be denied us. He won't give us everything we want, but He will always provide what we NEED. We will always have the means to gain that which will see us through, and if we lack the wisdom, strength, insight or knowledge to see what we need (rather than what we want)... He will provide it to us. All we have to do is trust Him, and He will deliver.

When things have been tough here, and money has gotten so tight and jobs have been damn-near impossible to find, and my hope has dwindled to almost nothing and my anxiety has reached all new heights... I admit to thinking back to my life before coming to NEPA and the simplicity that dominated that life. No kids, no fiscal burdens other than what I placed on myself, a free and easy schedule that was utterly mine to control... in short, almost no responsibility outside of working my 40 hours a week and paying the mortgage and bills. I think back on that and wonder where it went...

And then the 7-year-old comes downstairs from his bedroom, where he is supposed to be sleeping on a school night, walks up to me typing on the computer, and gives me a "BIG" hug and a peck on the lips... and he whispers in my ear that he loves me. All my freedom from job uncertainty, money problems, car repairs, commute times, Christmas bills... and I'd have missed that single hug and kiss.

Nope... I wouldn't pass up even ONE chance for a hug and a kiss from these kids for all the money in the world, or the best job, or the best car... not for anything.

Thank you, God... for all you have given me. Thank you for my family, my friends, my miracles, and the lessons I still have to learn along the way. I will try harder to treasure them all... no matter how small they may seem.