Miracles

Around New Year’s, I love to reflect back on what God has done in my life over the past year. In fact, our family has started a New Year’s Eve tradition where we take time to remember God’s goodness to us. Throughout the year, we write down times where we saw God work in our lives and then put the pieces of paper in a jar. Then, on New Year’s Eve, we pull out the slips of paper and read them. I love being reminded of each of the ways, both small and big, where we clearly saw God at work. This year alone, we saw so many amazing things. Many would say they are just coincidence. I know they are miracles.

One of the best miracles this year was our sweet Raylene. Before she was born, we were hoping for a little girl so that Brooke could have a sister close to her age. When I got a final ultrasound at 34 weeks, the doctor speculated that our baby was a boy. Of course, we would’ve loved a boy as well, but we were a tad disappointed. Brooke continued to pray that she would get a sister, and we joined in, even though we tried to prepare her for having another brother.

When Raylene was born and I was still reeling from all the pain, Clint looked at me in awe and whispered, “Ashlyn, it’s a girl!” We both shed a few tears. 

We video called Clint’s sister and brother-in-law who were watching the other three kids, and told them the good news. When we told Brooke that she had a new sister, she got the biggest smile on her face, jumped off the couch, and did a happy dance around the room. After we hung up, we cried again at God’s goodness. He didn’t have to give Brooke a sister. Many little girls have prayed for sisters for years and never gotten one. But this time, God chose to make the doctor see the wrong gender, and surprised us with a sweet gift. We’re so thankful.

Driving home from the hospital

Brooke meeting her sister for the first time

And God continues to work miracles with her. Her paperwork all went through quickly, which was such a blessing! Except for her Papua New Guinea visa. With all the holiday celebrations, the PNG Immigration Office was delayed processing it, and the PNG Consulate here in Australia didn’t reopen until January 6. Our Australian visas were set to expire this Monday, the 13^th, and, while we could have renewed them, it would’ve been a lot more work. At the last second, God worked a miracle, and we were able to pick up the visa from the Consulate yesterday, on Friday the 10^th. We’ve already booked tickets to leave early on Monday morning. We’re so amazed at the way God works! 

I know we all have stories of God’s goodness in our lives. I love hearing them and being reminded of how amazing He is! It’s so comforting to know we serve a loving God who cares so much about every detail of our lives! In the midst of the mundane difficulties of every life, it’s sometimes hard to see what He’s doing. But I’m so thankful for each of these things that I can look back on and recall His faithfulness.