september 4. day... 365!
this is it... the last day of my 365 project!
*whew*
it is a miracle to me that i FINISHED. it is also a miracle to me how much i learned from this experience. my first 365 project (on this same blog, you just have to scroll back to the beginning of time!) was a "project of thankfulness". each day i wrote about one thing i was thankful for and i wrote about the important people in my life on their birthdays. this was a great challenge for me, but when it was over i realized the easy part of the project was that the things i were thankful for were not always day-specific. for example, i distinctly remember being thankful for nacho cheese doritos one day. and another day, bobby pins. those days were probably horrible days when i could not think of a single thing i was grateful for and so i wrote something silly (that i was still thankful for, but used as a cop-out). two years later, i came up with the "project of miracles" idea: i had to look for a specific miracle that happened each and every single day for an entire year! i decided to push myself to truly learn to see the hand of God in my life every day. dear readers, you know as well as i do that every day was definitely not perfect. there were quite a few days where i even explicitly stated, "i do not have a miracle for today." and sometimes i just talked about good things that happened in the day because i could not think of an amazing life-changing miracle that happened. (but, some days i DID have life-changing miracles!) looking back on the days when i thought i had "failed" to notice a miracle, i now realize that even seeing the good parts of a day is good, especially when we have bad days. not every day is perfect. but, there is always at least one good thing we can all find in each of our days. i also realized that even though i may have considered something just "a good part of my day" instead of a "miracle" does not necessarily mean the "good thing" did not come from God. God loves us! and He is always seeking to bless us. sure, my life was not drastically inspired and i was not saved from near-death experiences every day, but i have a firm belief that even those little "good parts" of my days were sent from God as little personal miracles to help boost my spirits, put a smile on my face, and keep me going through to the next day.
i cannot perfectly put into words the great love i have developed for God and His sweet miracles and blessings He gives me as well as my beliefs that i know He loves me as well, except with an infinite and perfect love. but i will leave you with four of my favorite scriptures that can attempt to explain the four greatest and most powerful miracles, to me:
"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." --Psalms 46:10
"For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee." --Isaiah 54:7
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." --Isaiah 41:10
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." --Isaiah 40:31
long story short, thank you for sticking with me through another 365 project! i learned so much this year-- about myself, life, and how much God loves me and is truly by my side every day.
and THAT is a miracle to me!