Marvel-ous

"After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of the burning thorn bush. "When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord.

Acts 7:30-32

It was nice having a week off at Christmas. I had a few projects to do around the house, a few 'honey-do's and simply spent some time relaxing. My little puppy 'turned the corner' over the holidays and I feel rather ashamed for calling her the dumbest Golden we have ever had. In actuality, she is doing things now that none of our Goldens ever accomplished at such an early age (about 4 months).

She does have a tendency to get me up early, and I mean early. Over the holidays, the three of us, (me, Belle, and Millie) generally started our day at about 5:30 AM. The other humaniods and the feline didn't stir for several more hours. It actually was a nice time to putter around the kitchen, get the coffee going and start teaching Millie a new task that will make things a little easier for me each morning.

The command: 'gitdapaper'.

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Our old girl, Belle, knows exactly what it means, although it is a task she never quite mastered. Our first Golden, Bonnie would hear the command 'gitdapaper' and immediately she was in the foyer, bounding through the first crack of daylight in the open door, running down the driveway, scooping up the paper and was back at the front door in a New York nanosecond. She knew that a Milkbone treat awaited after each successful mission.

.Belle loves going down the driveway, but just will not pick up the paper. So I give the command anyway and she and I have for years walked down the drive so I can be the retriever. I give her a treat just out of habit.

Millie, on the other hand, has the bloodlines of Bonnie. She attacks it with ferosity, even dragging the Sunday paper with all its ads back to the front door. Belle watches her too, and still expects her Milkbone. And it didn't take Millie long to put the paper-Milkbone-connection together.
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I recall one morning over the holidays. We were making our trek and as Millie scooped the paper and turned back to the house, I peered through the darkness at something I see everyday. It wasn't a burning bush, or the voice of the Lord. It was simply...my home.

I don't live in a McMansion, but we have a pretty nice ranch style home. I stopped dead in my tracks and smiled. I simply thanked God for the warm abode He has provided for my family, a place of refuge, a den of safety. I guess you could say I marveled.

There are things that I encounter everyday that are marvelous. But I usually don't marvel. I wonder if I spend too much time waiting to marvel at the burning bush but forget about the burning hickory in a warm fireplace.

I sometimes think that God gets great pleasure in knowing that His children marvel at the mundane. By that I mean the things we just take for granted each day. Perhaps Paul summed up it up best when he wrote to the Thessalonians:

Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.

In every thing give thanks:

for this is the will of God

in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Mark