The Supernatural...signs and wonders

I was listening to a sermon on podcast today and it talked about how the Pharisees who had hardened their hearts against Jesus wanted a sign from him to show that he was God. They wanted him to, again, show a supernatural act to them.

This got me thinking...humans were originally made to be in a very close relationship with God. Before the fall of Adam and Eve they walked with Him in the garden. Surely, the very fact that God created this world out of nothing and put us on it should make us realize that we are faced with evidence of the supernatural every day. While we were created to know God and see Him move we are now surprised by it...even skeptical of it. We've truly fallen very far. How is it we are so consumed with our daily, hum-drum lives that we cannot see how miraculous our lives are? How have I become so oblivious to how intricate our world is?

Even now I feel like letting out a long sigh. I think I must admit that I've dealt with bouts of discouragement for a long time now. During those times I waver between looking for those things in nature and in life that make me stop and think about how even in the middle of a difficult time life is beautiful, or I completely miss them altogether. I went to the Holocaust Museum once and got to listen to the stories of the survivors. One woman talked about leaving one of the camps and outside the walls was a patch of ground covered in flowers. She said she went and sat in the middle of the flowers and found it so strange that something so beautiful had existed while something so terrible was happening simultaneously.

I can't forget that story. When I'm discouraged I try to look for those patches of beauty and soak in it. I'm not that good at it. I frequently soak in self-pity, fear, and insecurity, but I often forget how to be in awe of the miracle that I live in. I went through a period of time where I feel that my eyes were opened and allowed me to take notice of how every little thing in my life is a blessing. Even the ability to feel sadness. The ability to feel anything at all is in itself mysterious to me. But lately it's not so easy for me to be in wonder of the world I live in and the God who made it. I think if I had a wish now...more than to be wealthier, in love, smarter or anything else that causes me insecurities...I would wish for my heart to be soft enough again to notice those miracles and feel that wonder again.