Saturday, August 19, 2017

Project Something Beautiful: HOPE

I think there are great similarities between Hope and Prayer. I cannot see either one; I cannot hold either one; I cannot control either one. Hope and Prayer are brother and sister, cousins, lovers, you & I. Hope looks forward, to the future.

Hope is ethereral. Hope is eternal.
Hope is like a mist moving softly through you.
Hope is growing, reaching, blooming.
Hope is living, for I cannot live without Hope.


My husband and I recently overheard a man near us at dinner saying that he knows statistically what will happen in life, so basically that's it. What a sad statement. He is living a hopeless life, full of darkness, pain, and status quo. I want to live a life full of Hope. If I didn't have hope I don't know how I would have made it through the end of 2002-2003. My husband almost died from Multiple Myeloma (just writing that still shakes me to my core). He was a week in ICU, then treatment, surgeries, & therapy; finally, underwent a stem cell transplant the end of 2003. Statistically he should have died. Without Hope and Prayer I would have been lost. We would have been lost.

I see Hope in every day dawning.
I hear Hope in a child's laughter.
I lived Hope through my husband's illness.



In the end, I trust in Hope and Prayer. On a breath releasing both to God, and they float away.

This post is part of a series and a blog circle titled "Project Something Beautiful," exploring our lives and emotions. I'm so excited to collaborate with this wonderful group of talented women. For more on HOPE, check out Britney's blog here:  Britney Wharton Photographer

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Unusual Miracles?

God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles.
    -Acts 19:11  (NLT)


This passage struck me today because, really, what are UNUSUAL miracles? By the very definition, aren't all miracles UNUSUAL? If something becomes "usual" is it still miraculous?

When Jesus or Paul heals or casts out demons - can that ever be called usual? Usual is mundane, everyday; miracles are not. Perhaps the writer meant usual miracles for Jesus & Paul, as they did them frequently. But still, they are anything but usual for the individual healed. The person who can now walk or see or is freed from leprosy or who is now in their right mind after years of of insanity - would they consider this a usual miracle? And I don't think Jesus and Paul and the other disciples lost sight of the glory of their connection to God.

The ability of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit to heal us and transform our lives is truly miraculous. It is the unusual and the sacred that touches our lives. It is Grace.