Beautiful reminders and blessings

June 22, 2019June 22, 2019 ~ ~M ~ 7 Comments

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In the past month, I’ve had some extraordinary close encounters with some very amazing creatures. The first encounter happened on my camping trip a few weeks ago. I was sitting with my hubby next to the campfire in the early evening, when all of a sudden, a doe came rambling down the hill. It stopped about 20 feet away from us and began to graze. I got up from my seat to have a better look, and the doe merely raised her head in curiosity, while continuing to eat. The doe kept her eye on me but showed no inclination of being afraid. And as I walked closer to get a better look, she still kept grazing. I decided to leave her alone and sat back down by the campfire, and several minutes later, she walked down to the pond, which was just beyond our campsite. Hubby and I watched her stroll around the pond, and then she eventually disappeared into the forest. It was such a rare and beautiful moment to behold. Looking into the eyes of a doe was mesmerizing, and I could tell she felt safe with us there. It was such a miraculous thing to witness, and I will never forget her eyes. They were eyes of acceptance and trust, and the sheer beauty in her gaze overwhelmed me.

The second encounter began when hubby and I decided to play shuffleboard at a resort we were staying at. As we walked up to the game area, a baby rabbit was sitting there nibbling away on a piece of grass. We were so close to the rabbit that we could have stepped on it if we had not been paying attention. The rabbit never once flinched as we walked past, but instead, just kept eating while we played shuffleboard a few feet away. I thought that perhaps the pucks racing toward it, might scare the poor thing away, but it just sat there happy and content the entire time. When we finally decided we’d played long enough, the baby rabbit bid us farewell, and we left feeling as if we’d seen yet another small miracle that day.

The third encounter happened yesterday when I was visiting a nearby park. My girls and I decided to go for a picnic lunch next to the river, and it was so beautiful that I wanted to capture the beauty of everything by taking a few photos. The problem was, I had left my phone in the car, so I decided to head back to grab it. As I was walking back, a bird suddenly swooped down in front of me, almost hitting me. I thought the occurrence was very odd but began to continue to the car. But something suddenly made me stop and go back to the spot where the bird had almost hit me. Walking back, I came across a tiny yellow bird. It was just sitting there peacefully in the grass, staring up at me. It looked almost like it were about to fall asleep because of how calm and content it looked. I stood no more than a foot away from that little yellow bird and spoke to it for a few minutes. It sort of winked at me a few times and looked as if it were actually smiling up at me. I couldn’t believe how tame and beautiful it was. It could have been a baby bird, but it had all of its adult feathers and was bright yellow in color, so I wasn’t sure if it was newly born or not. The nature of it was definitely odd and had I leaned down to hold it; I was sure it would have let me. But at last, I knew I didn’t dare disturb it further, and so I left it there and headed back to my car.

The fourth encounter happened today, which prompted me to write this post. I had been sitting in my office, working at my computer, when a dove suddenly decided to perch on the screen of my window. I have always loved doves, and have had some interesting experiences with them. In fact, I had one occasion, where a dove sort of saved my life. But I suppose I will wait and share that story for another occasion. For now, just seeing that dove, lifted my spirits and reminded me of all the times when animals have spoken to me in such extraordinary ways. When I’m feeling gloomy like today, it’s God’s creatures who always cheer me up, and I’m thankful that I have such reminders of his everlasting love. I hope the rest of you will find similar reminders in your own lives. Those unexpected occurrences always seem to come just when we need them, but we must pay attention or we could end up missing those miraculous blessings that he sends our way.

Photo credit: Pixabay.com

Him vs. Her – The window to his soul

March 22, 2017March 20, 2017 ~ ~M ~ 20 Comments

Recently, I’ve been asking myself how it is that my husband and I have had such a quick turn-around in our marriage. Since September he made the decision to go above and beyond what any normal husband would do, all in order to prove to me that he really wanted to make our relationship work.

I fought him for several months, not believing a word a word of what he was saying and figured he would go back to his old typical ways. Six months later he has surprised the heck out of me. He has completely changed into an entirely different person. It’s as if God said, “Alright Michelle if this is what you want, your perfect wish is granted!” And then instantly, he handed me somebody new.

At first, I thought an alien had quite possibly taken over my husband’s body. He is actually so different, that I had to get used to him all over again and frankly it sort of scared me at times. All of a sudden I had a stranger living in my house, telling me how much they loved and adored me over and over. And it’s been non-stop for six months now.

So I’ve been trying to figure out what finally broke through my concrete exterior, in order for him to reach in and take back my heart; which had undoubtedly gone into deep hibernation. After pondering this for quite some time, I’ve finally figured it out! It’s his eyes… he is finally looking at me!

During our 23 years of marriage, he would never look me in the eyes when he spoke to me. He just couldn’t do it. I would ask him to and he just never could. So connecting with him was very hard, because I could never really relate to him on a deeper level.

Now, when I look at him, he doesn’t look away. His focus is completely on me and his eyes say it all. He loves me and what more could a girl want! He has finally revealed to me the window to his soul. And I have to say, the view takes my breath away every single time I’m met with those baby blue eyes. I can only hope that window remains open for the rest of our days. I would hate to lose such a beautiful sight.

My Story

January 20, 2015August 28, 2015 ~ ~M ~ 8 Comments

Photo Credit: www.pinterest.com — Photo Credit: http://www.pinterest.com

It’s been quite a few years since I decided to have a personal relationship with Jesus. In fact, it’s been about thirty eight years. I can still remember the moment my mother sat me down and asked me if I wanted to ask Jesus into my heart. I was five years old and surprisingly well beyond my years when it came to spiritual matters. We said a prayer together and I remember feeling quite comforted to know that Jesus would be with me for the rest of my life.

When I was sixteen years old, I rededicated my life to Jesus through baptism. It was a big step for me, but I wanted everyone to know that I was ready to make a life long commitment to serving God and also to show others how important living for Him was to me. As I grew older though, it was so hard to stay focused on God and avoid the temptations that I was constantly faced with. I gave in so many times to lustful relationships and just figured that there was no turning back. I felt so much guilt for what I had done, that I felt unworthy to ever face God again.

After getting married, I struggled even more with my relationship with God. I started to think that maybe Jesus wasn’t really who I thought he was. Maybe my life of going to church and being brought up thinking that Jesus was my savior was all wrong. I especially struggled because my husband did not have the same beliefs as me and we constantly disagreed on anything spiritual. He hadn’t grown up in church and he really had no idea why anybody would want to go in the first place.

I finally decided that I needed to find out once and for all what the truth really was. So I searched long and hard for answers to my questions. I questioned everything to the point of almost not wanting to believe in anything. I loved my husband so much, and I think I had almost resigned myself to the fact that if he wasn’t going to be in heaven with me because of his unbelief, than I didn’t want to be there either. I couldn’t imagine spending eternity without him and I had pretty much given up on the idea that he would ever have a relationship with Jesus.

I had almost given up all hope, when my husband lost his job and he thought that his life was over as a result. I didn’t know what to do to help him through his feelings of worthlessness and all I knew was that I had to pray. I was so scared that he was going to wind up doing something drastic and I prayed to God that He would keep him safe. A little over a week after my husband lost his job, he accepted Jesus as his Savior. Seeing the miracle that God performed in my husband’s life, really opened my eyes and helped me to see that I had been on the right track all these years. I just needed God to remind me of what he was capable of doing and he did that through my husband.

I am still in awe every time I think of the miracle that God showed me. He took hold of my husband’s hand that day, when he was so distraught and discouraged from losing his job. He led him home to me, and showed him the path to salvation. God never stops amazing me and I don’t see how I could ever possibly doubt his existence again. He is so real to me and closer to me now than he has ever been before. I think God saw that I was slipping away from him and he knew that by showing me a miracle, that he could reassure my faith in Him. It just goes to show that God really does see everyone. He knows our struggles, each and every one of us. And in time, if we wait upon him, he really does direct our paths.