Tiny Miracles

"There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle. 

 The other is as though everything is a miracle."
 

                                                                                         Albert Einstein

 

After five months, I’m ready to make a sweeping biological generalization: bugs are bigger in Kakamega. The other day we had a moth in our home which was, and I am not kidding, larger than a small bird.  Frankly, it was a miracle that I didn't immediately pack my bags and head for the door.

Soon after we got here, my husband proudly presented me with a new vacuum cleaner.  I didn't quite understand.  I wondered to myself, "What is this for?  We don't have any carpets."  But Ken was proud of the fact that he'd been able to find one, and so I hugged him, expressed my thanks for his 'thoughtful' gift, and put it in a closet.

Yet since coming face to face with some of the smaller occupants of our home, that contraption has become my favorite toy.  Armed with our little vacuum cleaner, I whip through our quarters sucking up any creature that dares to show itself.  Oh, what power!  Now the only time I have to yell for help is when a large gecko gets into our bed or a frog refuses to leave my shower.

Since we started our furlough on Monday, we've had a flood in our washroom, a flood in our kitchen, and the shower head fell off.  The handle broke off our bedroom window.  Our printer is out of ink, and we can't find the cartridges anywhere in Kenya.  Ken's car had a flat, and my vehicle key broke in half . . . again.  More seriously, one of our cadets was hit by a motorcycle, Ken's secretary contracted typhoid, and some of our senior officers came down with malaria.  Unbelievable!

Training Principal and staff visiting our cadet in the hospital.

 

Not wanting our holiday to be ruined, however, we have been focusing on all of the good things that have happened. Our tire did not blow out while we were traveling through the rain forest after dark.  The cadet was not seriously injured, Ken's secretary and the officers are recovering, and we are blessed with a maintenance staff that has vast experience fixing leaks.

So this week has reminded me of the fact that life actually consists of thousands of tiny miracles, most of which we don't even think about:  a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, new opportunities, and precious experiences.  In fact, we live and move in the midst of these miracles, the greatest of which are His daily protection and care.  Those are two gifts I should never take for granted, and I do my best to thank Him for them.  Yet I know that I'll always be a bit like the Psalmist, who wrote:

Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord?

Who can ever praise him enough?

Psalms 106:2 (NLT)