God Is There

The growing of my faith is a lifelong journey and I have quite a ways to go. 

But.  

Here is what I know today.

God is in the big things. He is also in the small. He is always there.

**He is in healing. Yesterday, I attended a prayer vigil for my friend, who is currently warrior-ing on in the hospital (he's a strong one, I tell ya!). Right after the kids and I arrived at the vigil, the skies opened up. It was absolutely pouring. But then? Then the group started praying. We started reading verses from the Bible. At that moment, at that exact moment, the sun came beaming down through the rain. Shortly after, the rain stopped and the sun shone on, illuminating skies that were dark grey moments before. And then, a rainbow danced across the sky, resting directly over the home of our friend. You can't make this stuff up. God was there.

**He is in hope. Meet my precious nephew, Everette. Now, I truly believe that every baby is a miracle. Some just take a little more hoping and praying before they are ready to debut. We prayed long and hard for Everette. Look at this beautiful face. He was worth the wait. And he instilled hope during a time when hope could easily have been lost. God was there.

**He is in friendship. Real, true, deep, intimate friendship. He puts people in our lives, in different ways, at different times, for different reasons. Friendships comes in all shapes and sizes at all seasons, right when you need them. God is there.

**He is in parenthood. Oh, boy, is He a loving God. What is amazing to me, and hard to even comprehend, is that my heavenly Father loves me even more than I love my children. Wow. Trust me. That is a lot. And I should know--I've written a (yet-to-be-published) book about it. It's a whole lotta love. God is there.

**He is in faith. Over the weekend, I attended our church's women's retreat. If you ever want to feel inspired and raw and real and loved and hopeful and full of possibility, surround yourself by women in search of the same. Spend a weekend with three women you absolutely adore, grow closer as you share confessions, passions, and prayers. Laugh together, cry together, be together. It is a heavenly, faith-filled experience that will fill you to the brim. God was there.

**He is in joy. You can feel Him there, especially between giggles amongst littles. If ever you feel lost or unsure, listen to the littles. Always listen to the littles. Hear their pure, unfiltered joy. It will make your heart smile so hard. God is there.

**He is in marriage. Marriage is hard work. When I was engaged, I always said that I didn't care if I wore a brown paper bag and was married in an alley, as long as the end result was that I was married to my hub. That was almost 11 years ago. I love my hub more than ever today, and not because we have discovered some top secret recipe for sustaining a solid marriage. It's because we choose, every day, to love each other. And to put God first. Yes, God is there. 

God is in the big things. He is also in small. He is always there.