Glimpses of God's Goodness

It's hard to believe that it has been a week since I began this blog. Time seems to have flown by, and I have a couple of stories to tell you.

Yesterday we were watching the Michigan/Ohio State game on our only TV when during the 3rd quarter, it suddenly stopped working! I actually prayed this: "Dear God, would you please provide us with a TV for free? We don't have money for one right now, and I would really appreciate it. Thanks." Dave & I went out for the evening to see the U/M Men's Glee Club (Fantastic Performance!!!) and had a very enjoyable time.

Later that night, (shortly before midnight) I suddenly thought to go to one of my favorite Yahoo! Groups, "Ann Arbor Recycle" where folks freely give and receive items from one another. I requested a TV, and not a minute later, received an e-mail from someone saying they'd be happy to donate one of theirs to us; when I looked at the sender's name, I recognized that it was my own brother!! He just happened to see my message at that moment, was coming to our neighborhood the following day, and offered to bring it to us! So less than 24 hours after ours broke, we had one back in our living room, and it works very well. To me, that is the magnificence of a God who cares about the very minute details of our lives!

Another little story from the weekend: I read an article in the paper about children who are abused, and will be going to a meeting tomorrow night that teaches folks how to recognize the signs that children are being abused, and for some reason between those two things and some others, I started having a hard time with my thoughts regarding my own upbringing and the pain I felt at that time. While in the shower, I was crying, walking the edge of despair, when I remembered that Jesus is my friend, and I could talk to him about it. So I asked him to somehow bring healing and help me not to become self-centered or bitter, but forgiving and loving. The neat part of this situation is that the lines of communication opened up a bit with my family, and I was able to talk to some of my kids about how I was feeling and why. They were very supportive, encouraging, kind, and loving. The goodness of God shone through them and reached the depths of my pain, bringing joy and healing; I knew that I wasn't alone, and that I am loved and cherished by God and by my family.

Ah, sweet magnificence: hiding behind every corner, just waiting to be found!

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog! After a frail attempt at maintaining a Facebook account, I have decided that it just isn't "me". In an effort to share with others, I am trying this because I read a few blogs recently and found them encouraging and fun. It seems to be a good way to keep in touch with many people at once. I have named this blog "Veiled Magnificence" because through the people, events, dreams and hopes of each day, the magnificence of God is there, but remains veiled to me until I have taken the time to reflect and wonder.

I'd be honored to have you walk alongside of me as I share my own feeble attempts to recognize the magnificent, and I invite you to post your comments or just let me know you've been here.

Thanks for visiting.