But deep in my heart, I knew that the very "ordinariness" of this day was in itself a miracle, and evidence of God's faithfulness to our family over the past twelve or fourteen months.
We spent Christmas Day 2011 in hospital. We seemed to have moved beyond the stage where doctors were telling us that my Dad would never come out of hospital alive, but he was still in critical condition and Christmas day was full of pain for him. He was unable to eat any Christmas dinner, and a pervasive sense of nausea caused him to throw up several times that day. Ten rather traumatic weeks lay behind us, and we didn't know that six more difficult months of hospitalisation lay ahead.
What a contrast this year! Although Dad still faces some challenges as he continues to recover from his near-death experiences, it is nothing short of amazing to see how well he is doing: to see him able to walk with a stick, to see him eating his Christmas dinner and opening his presents..... to see him doing all the "ordinary" things that doctors told us he would never do again. In the words of a song you might have heard: it's just another ordinary miracle today!
If you were one of the people who stood with us in prayer this time last year, you too have played a part in this miracle; you were part of seeing the faithful and miraculous power of God at work in my Dad's life. Thank you for that.
On Sunday, we went out as a family to a Christmas service at church. That too may seem a very ordinary thing to do.... but it was the first time in fourteen months that my parents had been able to go out to church together .... and it was all thanks to the healing power of God.
Perhaps your Christmas also seemed "ordinary." Perhaps 2012 was not particularly dramatic for you and your family. And yet I know that the faithfulness of God has been there for you too. Perhaps you have experienced His power and His answers to prayer in all sorts of "ordinary" ways this year - whether you were aware of it or not.
I pray that 2013 will be a year when God's ordinary miracles become more noticeable to all of us... a year when our hearts are filled with thankfulness for His goodness to us. I hope you had a happy Christmas this year.... and I wish you many blessings in the new year that lies just around the corner.
