"Throw those curtains wide!
One day like this a year'd see me right." - Elbow
So it's been a whole month since I last posted. Life gets pretty busy doesn't it? The lament of every youth and children's worker I imagine. Christmas is almost upon us and it's all Nativity and drama and singing and parties... Love it! But I'm posting today because it's my birthday. 27 today! And what a day. Isn't God good? Blessing after blessing is poured out without limits, even when it's undeserved and beyond what we could have asked for. As Relient K say "the beauty of grace, is that it makes life not fair." How true.
Today started with the opening of presents and finished with a McDonalds - good times. In between there was lunch with a friend (always a blessing) and a trip to a musical. So why am I singing God's praises? Well, a couple of reasons. If you are a York resident you will have noticed that there was a little bit of snow today. Well, a couple of days ago I asked God if He could send me some snow on my birthday. I'll admit I wasn't expecting Him to say yes, but 'yes' He said and there were just the beginnings of snow - I think I was the only one with a smile on my face as I walked through it but I thank God for that small blessing that put a big grin on my face.
The other thing I'm thanking God for is the musical! I went to see Sister Act the Musical in Bradford tonight and though I was expecting to enjoy some good theatre, I was not expecting God to bless me in the midst of it. It was amazing theatre and there were a few voices in the cast that were clearly God-given gifts. One of the songs (the first one Dolores sings with the choir of nuns) is called Raise Your Voice and I was blown away by it! I shed a tear during the part where the sisters layered 'hallelujah' and 'gloria in excelsis deo' and a few Latin lines on top of each other. I'm not sure if all the actresses saw it as worship, but I certainly did. And when Dolores encourages them to sing it loud, and a nun says "I hear what she’s saying – It’s the word of the Lord, why should we whisper it?" I found myself saying Amen slightly involuntarily.
It still surprises me how God can bless us through anything and anyone. Are you always ready to hear God speak? Do you keep your ears, eyes and heart open at all times? Because you really never know when and how God is going to bless you, or speak to you or remind you that He loves you.
