I expected God to alert me to miracles in 2015 when He gave me the word “miracle” and James 5:13-16 as my year’s verses:

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

I set out into the year writing down a miracle for each day. Most were small occurrences—yet something only God could do.

I noted miracles that happened to people I cared about, like a friend I met in India receiving scholarship funds to attend a Christian University, to my dog finding my favorite earring. Sometimes my miracle was a warm day in the middle of winter to sit on my patio, or avoiding an accident that was ever so close. I prayed for my daughter’s spouse for almost 27 years and witnessed the miracle answer from God on their wedding day at the end of May. There were divine appointments and a change in date for a major event in my life. By far the biggest miracle of all was when God brought my life full circle to marry someone I almost married in college. The miracle of this relationship is far more than I will describe in this short devotion. I will walk down the aisle to the song that meant the most to him this past year, Rich Mullins, Verge of a Miracle. My list of miracles includes a visit from a hummingbird that I received as a sign from Brian that this was a relationship that was meant to be.

So here I am at the end of 2015, opening my heart fully to whatever unexpected expectations God has in store for me in 2016. In recent years, God has asked me to walk down some very difficult roads. What I have learned is that God’s peace in the midst of the harsh realities is more desirable than a peaceful life. I am living a peace-filled life in spite of my circumstances.

Isaiah 55:9 explains my life of unexpected expectations.

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

The key to peace, in spite of circumstances, is to firmly believe in the goodness of God. I‘ve learned to wonder how God could be bringing about His glory through every challenge I face.

When I look at my life from the perspective that: God is, God is good, God cares, God redeems, God redeems in His way, God redeems in His time, God redeems in the way that is right for me, God redeems in the way that is right for others, and God redeems in the way that is right for God (source: Iris Pearce) then I have the wisdom to look at the good and bad realities I am faced with in a new way. This way always leads to peace.

As of this writing, I don’t know what my key word and verse is for 2016. I’m eager to learn what it will be. What I do know is that whatever I sense God leads me to think about this year, I have absolutely no idea of how it will play out in my life. I would never have expected that 2015 would include a husband to walk through the last third of my life. I’m just grateful for God’s wisdom and I will continue to follow the path of peace He gives to all people on whom His favor rests.