On Seeing God at Work

“Be careful driving home,” he cautioned over the phone. “The roads look wet, but they’re slick too. The rain is freezing.”

Grateful for my husband’s warning, I proceeded with care. Mindful of greater stopping distances, slower speeds, and reduced visibility in the dark, I arrived home safely.

I slept soundly, snug in my bed.

And awoke to school closings all around. Electric lines down in neighboring towns, with families who would be out of power for a full week.

I am certain there were spin outs on freeways and in subdivisions. My own daughter slipped in an unsalted parking lot.

People may even have perished through accidents and exposure.

And yet.

It was a winter wonderland.

A white Christmas.

Through the hazard and treachery, the hand of God was clear.

Ice coated roads and power lines, but it also encased the graceful skeleton branches on trees.

All glassy-glittery and iridescent. Fragile and delicate.

Breathtaking.

Isn’t that the way God works in our very lives too?

I tend to focus on the trials, the messes, and the frustrations.

I lament over the problems and fret over how I will work them all out.

But God.

He is always creating beauty from the chaos.

If I would only see.

The new, deep friendships that blossom when I loosen my grip on the ones that aren’t gelling.

The way I can reach out to a hurting heart because, yeah, I’ve been there too…and I know how it feels.

How the “Mommy, want to…” can lure me away from the sweeping, cooking, and planning more often, reminding me to choose being over doing.

The grace and beauty all melding, rolling, pervading the stress.

The favor of the Creator raining down.

Reminding of His love.

This new year…

2014?

I want to make it the year I see.

***

How do you see God at work in your life?

Fill in the blank: I want to make this the year I ____________________.