Minor Miracles

I think we can all agree that one day we hope to see/experience a miracle. The bible speaks of many miracles and I think you’ll agree with me that you haven’t seen anything close to that. But today I had to stop and think, have I ever seen any minor miracles?

Well, what is a minor miracle? To me, it’s something that I can’t produce on my own. It’s something special and specific to my life that’s controlled by God. So in that case, I often receive minor miracles and today was no exception.

If you don’t know this about me, you now will. I HATE the dentist. I’m not talking regular “I don’t want to go” type hate, I’m talking I will do anything to not go. It all started when I was younger and had a dentist that believed in filling every hole in my mouth with the shiny metal filling. It then continued with braces and has now brought me to adult hood where every time I go to the dentist something has to get drilled, another thing has to get filled and no news (forget about good news) does not exist. About a year ago I was told that my teeth are decaying and falling apart piece by piece and there is nothing I can do about it. And to think, I LIKE my dentist. He’s the only person besides my dad that calls me his “little trooper” and pats me on the head with every visit as I have tears in my eyes. So although the news is never good, somehow I’m comfortable with him telling me bad news.

There is only 1 hygenist that doesn’t make me cry because my teeth are so sensitive. Last year they got a new dentist and I was assigned to his chair. I was back 2 weeks later in pain because he “missed” a cavity…I think you get the picture.

So I’ve had this pain in my mouth that I knew had to get checked out. So I called to make an appointment and found out that my dentist will be out for 2 weeks and they’re assigning me to their newest dentist. After too long of a pause and a “eh eh” coming out of my mouth, she assigned me the 9:10am spot with a promise that my dentist will be in the building in case anything goes wrong. So I prayed and prayed for a good visit and nothing to go wrong. Chris prayed and prayed for peace and wisdom for this appointment. And then I prayed a bit more this morning that if I shouldn’t go, I would know.

Well, I went…and here is my minor miracle of the day.

I didn’t get my teeth cleaned so no tearful hygenist appointments. The dental assistant taking my x-rays was as nice as could be. And then in walked MY dentist. The dentist that couldn’t take me last minute. He wanted to say hi and see what was up. He looked in my mouth and told the assistant what to do. He then introduced me to the young female dentist I was about to see and we all discussed my trouble tooth. Within minutes they discovered the problem and she went to work on my mouth. I warned her about my sensitivity and she hit me up with the numbing gel and enough novocaine to last me the day. While it was going into effect she sat with me and we chatted about apartments and festivals and work and all different stuff. By the time my mouth was ready for drilling I was so comfortable and so peaceful that if things went well I wanted to have this girl over for tea haha.

The next half hour was a blur. I didn’t feel a thing. My dentist was in the room every few minutes to see how I was doing and my pain was gone. I left the dentist with a smile on my face (well, the side of my face that wasn’t numb!). Let me repeat that for dramatic, miracle believing affect: I LEFT THE DENTIST WITH A SMILE ON MY FACE.

Thank you God for your minor miracles that let me know you know me by name and you hear my prayers. And I thank you God that I will no longer depend on my hero of a dentist and will willingly give new people a try. You are an amazing God and I am so grateful for your grace.

“I don’t believe in coincidences, only Godinstances” – a very wise girl

Minor Miracles

I think we can all agree that one day we hope to see/experience a miracle. The bible speaks of many miracles and I think you’ll agree with me that you haven’t seen anything close to that. But today I had to stop and think, have I ever seen any minor miracles?

Well, what is a minor miracle? To me, it’s something that I can’t produce on my own. It’s something special and specific to my life that’s controlled by God. So in that case, I often receive minor miracles and today was no exception.

If you don’t know this about me, you now will. I HATE the dentist. I’m not talking regular “I don’t want to go” type hate, I’m talking I will do anything to not go. It all started when I was younger and had a dentist that believed in filling every hole in my mouth with the shiny metal filling. It then continued with braces and has now brought me to adult hood where every time I go to the dentist something has to get drilled, another thing has to get filled and no news (forget about good news) does not exist. About a year ago I was told that my teeth are decaying and falling apart piece by piece and there is nothing I can do about it. And to think, I LIKE my dentist. He’s the only person besides my dad that calls me his “little trooper” and pats me on the head with every visit as I have tears in my eyes. So although the news is never good, somehow I’m comfortable with him telling me bad news.

There is only 1 hygenist that doesn’t make me cry because my teeth are so sensitive. Last year they got a new dentist and I was assigned to his chair. I was back 2 weeks later in pain because he “missed” a cavity…I think you get the picture.

So I’ve had this pain in my mouth that I knew had to get checked out. So I called to make an appointment and found out that my dentist will be out for 2 weeks and they’re assigning me to their newest dentist. After too long of a pause and a “eh eh” coming out of my mouth, she assigned me the 9:10am spot with a promise that my dentist will be in the building in case anything goes wrong. So I prayed and prayed for a good visit and nothing to go wrong. Chris prayed and prayed for peace and wisdom for this appointment. And then I prayed a bit more this morning that if I shouldn’t go, I would know.

Well, I went…and here is my minor miracle of the day.

I didn’t get my teeth cleaned so no tearful hygenist appointments. The dental assistant taking my x-rays was as nice as could be. And then in walked MY dentist. The dentist that couldn’t take me last minute. He wanted to say hi and see what was up. He looked in my mouth and told the assistant what to do. He then introduced me to the young female dentist I was about to see and we all discussed my trouble tooth. Within minutes they discovered the problem and she went to work on my mouth. I warned her about my sensitivity and she hit me up with the numbing gel and enough novocaine to last me the day. While it was going into effect she sat with me and we chatted about apartments and festivals and work and all different stuff. By the time my mouth was ready for drilling I was so comfortable and so peaceful that if things went well I wanted to have this girl over for tea haha.

The next half hour was a blur. I didn’t feel a thing. My dentist was in the room every few minutes to see how I was doing and my pain was gone. I left the dentist with a smile on my face (well, the side of my face that wasn’t numb!). Let me repeat that for dramatic, miracle believing affect: I LEFT THE DENTIST WITH A SMILE ON MY FACE.

Thank you God for your minor miracles that let me know you know me by name and you hear my prayers. And I thank you God that I will no longer depend on my hero of a dentist and will willingly give new people a try. You are an amazing God and I am so grateful for your grace.

“I don’t believe in coincidences, only Godinstances” – a very wise girl

Keep the Peace

Walk around the streets of any city and you’ll find a lot going on. You’ll see a lot of violence and hate. You’ll see a lot of anger and hurt. You’ll feel the depression and overall struggle within people. But then something will catch your attention and the pain will go away. Whether it’s a couple holding hands, a baby sleeping or a gust of wind through the trees on a warm spring day. There is peace without a protest. There is love without a song and there is a hope without a word.

I think sometimes we need to close our eyes and open our hearts to the hope, peace and joy that can still be found on the earth today. We need to trust one another when there is no reason to trust. We need to love one another even when we don’t feel the love first. And we need to spread peace and hope even when the media is reminding us that the world is at war and there is little excuse to smile.

So do yourself a favor. Turn off the tv. Put down the newspaper. Silence the people around you. And go outside. Close your eyes. Take a deep breathe. And realize that God has kept you alive for another day and the possibilities of that day are endless.

A Night Without Words

Written during Tuesday night’s worship service.

A night without words is like a cloudless midnight sky. It’s so beyond words. It’s beyond what we can comprehend. We stare at the stars, not knowing how far away they are. We close our eyes and get lost in the peace. With nothing telling your brain what to think, all things are possible. They’re as real as you let them be.

Dare to let loose. Dare to break free. Dare to voyage to the world that’s unseen. The world unheard. The world beyond the darkness, beyond the clouds and beyond the stars.

The Ultimate Peace

For Christmas my boss got me the book “Izzy & Lenore. Two Dogs, an Unexpected Journey, and me.” I was a bit confused. I know he knows I like to read but why would he get me a book about dogs? I’m not one of those fanatical dog people. I don’t even live with one anymore. But, I trust my boss’ opinion and so the book went into queue (aka the bookshelf until I finished the books I was already reading). Well, it’s April and the book is off the shelf and in my hands. I’m not very far in but already I know that I love the book. First, it’s written in upstate NY. Not Rochester upstate, outside of Albany upstate. Second, it’s about life and relationships. The relationships just happen to be involving dogs.

Okay, to the point. 

Today I was reading and part of the book jumped off the pages and streamed right into the center of my heart. So I thought I’d share.

“I saw him close his eyes. (The dog, Izzy). If he were a cat he might have purred. The contact, the place, the moment seemed to bring him such pleasure, as if this were precisely what he’d been waiting for behind his fence all those years. He plopped his head into my lap and simply calmed down. It was almost as if he’d decided he was safe, that he understood life here, grasped the simple rules, and was now willing to abide on the farm in peace…He simply became my dog.” – Jon Katz

After reading this paragraph I simply closed my eyes, took a deep breath and enjoyed the moment. My moment. God was speaking straight to my heart through the words about a dog. The way Izzy felt and acted (that changed his life and Jon’s) is the same way I feel when I’m in God’s presence. That peace. That calm. That knowing that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. The safety of your father/your owner watching over you. Knowing and understanding the rules He has created so that you become who you’re supposed to be. The rules that will guide you into safety.

Love, Peace & Jerry Garcia

Last night was Rachel’s 70s party. Before we left work a co-worker of ours said “have fun, be safe and remember, love peace and Jerry Garcia.” I laughed, a lot. But here it is, about 18 hours later and I still have that quote in my head. Why in the world would that have stuck with me? I don’t know. But it did bring me to a thought that I’d like to share today. And something I’d really like to clear up for those that know me but might not really know me. 

People seem to think I’m a green, earth-friendly, bordering on carefree modern hippie (all the love and peace but without the hairy legs and stringy hair…ok some days my hair is stringy). So I need to clear something up to at least a handful of you. I do believe in recycling and taking care of the world, I do believe in fighting for what you believe in but doing it in love, I do believe in loving everyone and trying to be positive about everything, I am a pretty laid back easy going person but I would never classify myself the way some people do. Some say modern hippie, some say conservative religious person, some say mono-toned girl who has no opinion or emotions towards anything. Well whatever you think I am, that’s fine. But it’s time for the truth. Something that is always there but maybe not said out loud enough.

I’m not a hippie. I’m not a believer of free acceptance of all people and the whole “anything goes” style of living that has become so commonplace. I’m not really that “green.” I’m not a tree-hugging save the earth and animals type of person. I’m not very charitable. I’m not religious. I don’t even believe in religion. I’m not mono-toned. I’m not lacking in opinions and I’m definitely not always cool, calm, collected and emotion-less.

I am a God loving, God fearing woman and that is the only thing that defines my life. I believe that God created this earth and it’s disrespecting him to not try and take care of it. I do not believe that God wants anyone to be religious. Sure the bible sets rules of how He wants us to live, but I 110% believe that God sent his son, Jesus, to cancel out those rules that are so impossible to never break. I live in the freedom that Jesus gave his life for. I’m not opinion-less, I just respect other people’s opinions and do not always feel the need to say mine if it won’t matter in the grand scheme of things. I believe that God doesn’t want anyone stressed, angry, mad and heavy-hearted so I do my best to not be that way. I only give money and my time to the things God puts on my heart. I do believe that God has created us and this world in love and it’s our responsibility to love everyone, no matter who they are and what they’ve done. Forgiveness and a bitter-less heart and lifestyle is crucial. I believe that the bible is truth and is the manual to life. I do believe that living for Jesus is the only way to live but will never not love someone because they don’t agree. I go to church a lot but contrary to what many people think, it’s not my life. Jesus is my life and I would love everyone I know to live the same way. So yes, love and peace, but not Jerry Garcia.

Oh, and that whole mono-toned thing…if you know me at all, you’ll know that I do have emotions and a personality…you just might not get me.