Everyday Miracles

Some days I look around and think, “It’s going to take a miracle…” to get all these papers graded this evening, to get this house ready for company, to simply stay awake longer than our son, to get my health insurance to cooperate, to get all the laundry folded…

But other days I look around and realize I’m constantly experiencing everyday miracles.  For goodness sakes- we have kept a goldfish alive for almost 2 years!!!  But moving past our goldfish pal… yesterday was one of those fun days where we got a “sneak peek” at baby number 2.  I can’t lie, I love being pregnant.  I know I am fortunate to be able to say that, not everyone feels the same way, but despite a lengthy list on paper of reasons it should feel difficult and scary for me… I feel GOOD.  Maybe it is the fact that I’m just so incredibly grateful for the opportunity- there was a time we didn’t know if we would ever experience this journey.  Getting to look on that screen and see tiny, tiny fingers, and itty bitty toes makes joy leak out of my eyes a little bit.  I know babies are born all over the world every day, but to clearly see such tiny little features on someone who is the size of an avocado, feels like such a miracle to me.

This coming weekend we will celebrate 3 years of everyday miracles with the Cowboy.  I have no idea how three years has passed so quickly, but I am constantly amazed at the stages of development we experience every day.  After leaving the dr last night, I picked up (a) and we headed to the local farm store in search of a cake topper for the “rodeo arena” cake he has picked out for his party this weekend.  We weren’t in any crazy hurry, so let him enjoy the trip at his speed.  Now, if you are ever looking for a random fun time, take a small cowboy to the farm store.  As soon as you walk in the door there is life-size Holstein cow with a built in bench.  We of course had to stop and take a seat.  Then there is the excitement of kid-sized carts to drive around the store… which happened to be right by the boot section.  He LOVES cowboy boots, and had to put 3 different pairs that he announced he needed in his little cart (he was putting them in faster than I could pull them back out).  He then began strutting down the aisle checking out anything interesting to him.  He put a block of cheese in his cart, a toy combine, and then abruptly changed directions and announced “Oh!! We need to see da piggies!!”  I told him I wasn’t sure what piggies he was talking about and that maybe we should keep going.  He turned around and continued for a nano second before flipping back toward me (cart on two wheels) to say that he needed to go see the bunnies and chicks.  Before we could get there though, he was distracted by two pig statues.  One was wearing a cowboy hat and pushing the other in a shopping cart- when you are almost three that sight is apparently hysterical.  He then discovered plastic cat and dog heads, which of course had to be tried on while making the appropriate noise and saying “Hey! Who turned out the lights!??” 

I will spare you all the rest of the details of the trip, but we DID find a rodeo “buckin’ bronco cowboy” cake topper, got all the unneeded things out of the kid sized cart, and eventually made it out of there.  But as I followed him around constantly covering up my giggles, I couldn’t help but marvel at the everyday miracles of language development, reasoning skills, humor, and individual personality.  And I couldn’t help but think what a miracle it will be to watch those unique pieces come together for another little person in the next few years. 

I have experienced a few BIG miracles, and those are great, but most days I love to enjoy the everyday kind… sweet hugs and giggles, baby kicks from the inside, sunrise over the fields of rural America, the energy to accomplish everything that needs to be done, and the gift of God’s grace to do it again day after day.  May I never get so caught up in wishing for a miracle that I miss the everyday ones.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17