I can relate the past year of 2019 to a word that is always tossed around a lot during the Christmas season; the word called “Noel.”
Noel means “good news,” or “a birthday,” or “a new beginning.”
2019 contained a lot of these things.
The year called 2019 was a type of milestone year in my own life.
It may have been one of the most significant “glorious impossible” years I’ve observed yet.
I think growing older increases your awareness of how fragile and precious life is; and helps you to never take any of life’s blessings for granted. This year was full of very significant blessings that would bring change, new things and new order to our family.
Yet; I must admit that EVERY year is just a little like that.
God is always so good to us, and He knows and understands our needs so much better than we do. He knows just when we need what events to happen.
Looking back over the past year has proven this fact, long known to me, once again.
Have you looked back yet?
Did you find your glorious impossibles?
Surely by now you know exactly what I mean.
When I say “glorious impossibles” I’m speaking of those glorious impossible things that happen miraculously, out-of-the-blue and very unexpectedly throughout the year; those things that make no sense at the time; but always are right on target.
I’m thinking of those things that you could never imagine happening and somehow they just played out right before your very eyes. They seem almost like a novel someone wrote just for you. That is how those glorious impossibles always seem to show up.
I’ve described them here for years now.
I have pondered them at the end of each passing year; and I’ve never yet had a year without at least a few glorious impossibles falling out of the sky.
Last year I even forgot to look; but I saw them anyway.
Did you find yours?
By now I could fill a whole book with the years and years of glorious impossibles I’ve written down and observed through the passage of time.
Funny thing though; if you are not paying attention, they will pass you right by.
You will not even notice them as they happen.
Glorious Impossibles are for those with eyes to see; those who think with their hearts instead of their pocket-books.
Any person who wants to find them can; there are no specific qualifications; except that you believe that they are possible and keep your eyes opened wide enough to catch them.
Have you caught yours for 2019?
I enjoyed three very big glorious impossibles this year.
I’ll start by sharing those, and I’m sure a few more will come up in our conversation before we finish.
2019 GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE NUMBER ONE – MY HUSBAND IS ALIVE.
If that sounds like a rather blunt statement; it is because this is a rather true and blunt fact.
We almost lost him.
For years we had known there was a problem with my husband’s heart. It was located in the lower back part of the heart; that part that is so hard to do surgery on. The cardiologist had given him stints here and there for the last twenty years; but he did not want to have to risk the surgery for that part of his heart.
They just kept watching it every year.
Every year they did a stress test.
This year he went in for the stress test and it was decided that he would be admitted to the hospital for a triple by-pass operation as soon as possible.
He had been taking blood thinners, so we had to wait a few days to get that medication out of his system, but if he had shown signs of heart failure in those days of waiting the very risky surgery would have been performed anyway.
The medical team did not want to take the chance of anything happening at home. We stayed at the hospital for three days before the surgery was scheduled with his heart being monitored every second that we were there.
I didn’t like the term they used in describing his situation. They called the artery in question the “widow-maker.”
My prayers (which had already been daily for my husband’s health) increased tremendously after I heard those terrifying words.
I definitely did not like the sound of them. My heart was not at all ready to accept the fact that there was a possibility that I might become a widow.
Daily I drew hope and courage from the fact that I had prayed for this man every day for the length of our very long marriage.
God surely had heard my prayers, and this was probably why the amazing cardiologists had caught the problem before he had suffered a heart attack and incurred irreparable damage.
Now we just had to get through the surgery and he would soon be as good as new.
That is what I kept trying to believe every minute of our time in the hospital; but deep inside I knew that this time was different.
This time was very risky.
It wasn’t just placing a stint. They would remove his heart from his body in this procedure. This time was unpredictable. I prayed harder and tried not to let him see or know my fears. He was also doing the same for me.
My husband has always grasped the circumstances of life much quicker and more accurately than I do. I’ve always depended on his knowledge and expertise to guide us. This time; he didn’t seem as confident.
Thinking back; I remembered his total lack of energy for the last several months before the tests. I had noticed that he did not enjoy life like he had before. Was it depression? I wondered. Were we just getting older? Turns out it was a heart problem zapping all of his energy.
The surgery was performed and all went well.
He spent the next several months recovering and learning the simple things of life again; such as how to move, work and live normally. His heart had been completely removed and reinserted. Each time I think of that I’m astounded to know that this is even possible. This severe change shocks the body, and many life functions suffer. He had to learn how to function normally all over again. It changed his perspective about recovery in many ways.
We got through this time because God was with us.
Now, several months down the road he is completely back to normal; but we didn’t know if that was going to happen as the process first began.
Our whole world was temporarily changed in an instant. Everything was big and hard to do.
The magnitude of it all hit me on our last visit back to the cardiologist before he released him and proclaimed that he was healed and ready to go back to work. The doctor’s words were; “I hope you realize how close you came to death. Another two days and you would have been sitting at the dinner table and suddenly planted your face in your mashed potatoes. It would have been lights out my friend.”
That was a MAJOR glorious impossible.
I can’t imagine anything more major.
We have so much to be thankful for.
Things could have been so very different.
My end of the year analysis could be a totally different story.
I know God had his hand on us, and that he heard my pleas and prayers and guided us through every minute. Our grown children were amazing with the ways they stepped in and helped us pull our lives back together one piece at a time. I could not have made it through without their support. Each one was helpful in their own way, this covered so many needs.
2019 GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE NUMBER TWO – WE HAVE A NEW GRANDSON!
This “glorious impossible” was a lot easier and a lot more fun for us.
Beckham came into the world right before the Christmas season started this year. He is a fine young man, weighing 8 pounds and ten ounces.
It was a week before we could drive to their house in another state to see him. Finally we got to hold him and welcome him into our family.
He is so perfect!
Nothing about him looked like a new born baby; no redness, no wrinkles, he was just perfect in every way.
I was so happy to meet him and to know that he and his Mama were okay.
They had done a natural birth in their home with midwives. Many young couples are doing this now and it seems to be how new parents are trending. Still; having seen a lot of tragic situations in my days; I was very uneasy.
God heard our prayers and everything went well; though labor was LONG and intense and there were a few “moments” of nervousness for everyone.
We were delighted with the outcome and I’m so happy to call Beckham out as one of the best “glorious impossibles” ever.
2019 GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE NUMBER THREE – THE OTHER THREE GRANDCHILDREN ARE GROWING MORE AND MORE AMAZING TOO
In case you haven’t realized this yet; there is absolutely nothing better than being a grandparent.
It can totally change your life for the better.
There is never a dull moment.
With each passing year we feel our already overflowing love growing more and more for each of them. We now have four!
It is such a blessing to watch them develop and mature into unique little humans.
The fact that all of them still seem perfect, even years after the new has worn off is amazing to me. I guess grandparents just have special glasses; but I can’t find a flaw in any of my grand-kids.
Every day I thank God for them and I ask him to keep them as wonderful and loving and kind and sweet as they are right now forever.
I have to admit the credit for their personality development goes to their loving parents. We must have raised them right; because I never cease to be amazed at how they are raising their own children.
My son-in-laws have had major career changes; both of them conquering the world and making it a better place, they are so important to the rest of the world but they never hesitate to stop and take time out of their busy days for their little ones.
Our daughters are anchors of love, holding down the home fires first, and the rest of the world second. They amaze me every day.
It is so much fun to see how God is working in all of their lives, and how they love and relate to each other, even though there are age gaps between each grand child’s age range.
2019 GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE NUMBER FIVE – OUR LAST UNMARRIED DAUGHTER IS NOW ENGAGED
I’ve joked a lot with our one single daughter. When I say I need more grandchildren and she isn’t doing her part; she tells me she is thinking about adopting an Asian child or two. We didn’t know if she would ever settle down enough to commit to marriage, much less raising children.
As King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes; “there is a time for everything.”
We thought they would NEVER make a public commitment!
Erin and Alex have dated now for over eleven years and each of them clearly have eyes only for each other; but they didn’t seem to be making a public, lifetime commitment.
On Thanksgiving Day they walked into our family gathering smiling and Erin was sporting a lovely new ring.
They talked to us about how serious they thought the commitment of marriage was; and they seemed to have put so many fresh new thoughts into how they want to continue to spend the rest of their lives together.
Needless to say; this made me happy.
It was a Thanksgiving Glorious Impossible for sure!
2019 GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE NUMBER FOUR – MY MOM IS ENJOYING GOD’S HOLY DAYS
For years I have preached to Mom about the calendar of God and how He has made appointed times and seasons, and I have shared with her my beliefs about keeping the days God spelled out in the scriptures as holy and sacred. Her world did not evolve around such a calendar and she never listened to me. Actually, she usually even wound up mad at me for even suggesting such a thing, or even bringing it up.
So I had quit talking to her about it and had simply resorted to quiet prayer.
I’m so pleased to say that this year has been different!
She read Jonathan Cahn’s book called “The Oracle” and this book and a Jewish Messianic television show seems to have changed her mind! She saw in the Sabbath Cycles and the Shemittah’s that God was arranging times and dates and now she is coming around to the same facts that I have believed for years! She hasn’t changed her Sabbaths yet; but once you begin to study the holy days; it is inevitable that you come to accept the seventh day Sabbath.
So in this I find yet another answered prayer; one that was prayed for over a very long time.
We just had an interesting conversation about this a few days ago. She is gaining a wider and wider understanding of God’s appointed times and seasons.
I’m thanking God for opening her eyes. It makes such a difference when we are celebrating our family events and she joins in with us and is not just “being nice,” but now she really believes in what we are doing. It makes my heart sing!
Glorious impossibles always make my heart sing!
2019 GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE FIVE – THE WRITING IS GOING WELL
I’ve been on a serious fast-track path to becoming an established writer. This has progressed steadily over the course of the last seven years.
Though I have been a writer in my heart and soul forever (since I could breathe and first spell words)I had not pursued this passion enough. Life had distracted me; but this distraction of life is exactly what makes all of my writing rich.
The time for putting it off is definitely over, and I have been very busy writing for the last seven years.
The IN SEASON Lifestyle blog is gaining readers, and it has become a huge ministry for me.
This is a very fulfilling blessing.
I have learned that this is my purpose in God’s Kingdom, and I’m sure I would continue no matter what – even if I never earned a penny; but I am beginning to see where the writing might be profitable in the coming days of my retirement, mostly in the form of the books I have compiled over time.
The Come As A Child Bible Study is gaining popularity. I have molded the Genesis part of that study into a book which I am about to self-publish. I will not self-publish every work; there are some manuscripts that I desire to have traditionally published.
All in good time.
They are always here and will be ready when that time arrives.
In this year and the ones before it though; I have not sat idle.
Please pray that God will bless this effort; as I feel the whole process of it forming as the focus of my extra time was His will for my life. I think of the words that I write as first-fruits offerings; and I give them to God every year to do with as He sees fit.
Sometimes this means me doing extra work by publishing and sometimes this means that I have to actively seek the right publisher to meet the needs of the work.
Learning the in’s and out’s of the publishing industry has been fascinating and at times, also very trying.
I have pursued ALL of this on the side while making a living in my professional career working with an architectural firm.
Every minute of the whole process has been a very interesting journey. I am grateful to say that my circle of literary friends has increased dramatically. God has blessed me with so many interesting personalities with which to share my work.
I took a break from the little group of story-writers that I found in my own hometown when my husband became ill.
Now that he has recovered well; I am ready to get back to that purpose they have pursued; that of reserving the things of the past in writing for the next generation.
Sometimes the writer’s group writings and the blog writings and the bible study writings all collide and I use one article in all three places.
That is a good day!
A lot more of the technical knowledge I needed is now experience and I’m glad to have that part of the journey under my belt. I feel like the next year is going to be very interesting.
My website store is undergoing a major renovation; I hope it will be more available, more user friendly, and eventually more profitable. I still insist on only selling books or things that relate to whatever I’m blogging or teaching about in some way.
Every week feels like a little sprinkling of glorious impossible as I plow through the scriptures looking for points to make in the next week’s COME AS A CHILD bible lessons. God has revealed so much; and I never write a lesson without first praying for God’s guidance.
I’m sure I’ve learned more myself than I’ve taught others.
Funny how that happens.
A WHOLE YEAR FULL OF LITTLE BLESSINGS
There have actually been so many more glorious impossible moments in our lives here this year, both large and small; but it would take a whole book to tell it all.
For now; I’ll just close this article with the five notes listed above; but there really are numerous other things I could mention if we only had more time.
Let’s just sum it up by saying it was a year full of a million little blessings!
So keep your eyes open and your heart full of God’s Holy Spirit because you never know when you are going to stumble right over your own next glorious impossible.
Be ready; and be blessed as you travel through 2020.
We will continue this conversation next year; same time – same place!
Remember, keep watching for those glorious impossibles!