As I’m sure most of you are aware, this past Sunday was Easter.  I pray it was a blessed time for you either celebrating with family and friends, or quietly reflecting on the promise of the empty tomb.

I lead worship at our church once a month and Easter happened to fall on my week this month.  That’s a bit of a double-edged sword because there are SO many great songs, both past and present, to select from.  But…there’s also some unspoken pressure to “get it right” since Easter is a big deal in the life of God’s Church!

And while I ask God each month to guide me to the songs that will best speak to our congregation, I prayed a little more earnestly this month!

I felt God did clearly lead me to the songs we sang on Sunday.  That could be the end of the awestruck part of this.  But it went much further.  God placed ideas in my head as to how some old hymns could be incorporated into the contemporary songs we were singing.

And if that weren’t enough, I realized after those additions were included, they were either in the same key or had the same time signature.  I know that won’t mean much if you’re not a musician, but it spoke pretty loudly to me saying, “I’M planning this service!”  Signed, God.

The final piece that came together was an interlude where I thought some scripture might be appropriate while I played piano in the background.  The text God led me to almost immediately was the perfect segue between what we were singing before and after that interlude.

NOW is when I entered the awestruck phase of this planning session!  Sure, you could chalk up some of the other “integrations” to my own feeble efforts, but the totality of them all and the perfect way they fit into the worship set was clearly of God. 

Which brings me to the topic of the week.  When God does things like this, I am always in awe of it. I stop in my tracks and thank him for making himself known in such a personal way.

I don’t live in that state 100% of the time.  Honestly, I’m not sure my emotions could handle 24/7 “awestruck-ness!”

Whether God is actually doing more amazing things in my life, or if I’m just paying closer attention is hard to say.  But I do feel like there have been more of these awestruck moments since I became a widow.  Maybe God just knows that we need an extra dose of these reminders that he loves us deeply and walks with us.

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you may recall my miracle story of the lost pendant.  If not, I’ll encourage you to read about it here.  It’s still one of the most amazing examples of God’s sovereignty and tender care in my life.

Each time I find myself awestruck at how God has moved in my life, I question if I should always be surprised by it.  We know God is all-powerful and can do anything he chooses.  And he does do everything he chooses! 

So I ask myself if I should just have more of an expectancy attitude.  Of course, God did this amazing deed.  Or worked through this intricate detail in my life.

Honestly, I’d rather be surprised by his greatness every. single. time I see him move.  Yes, I rest in his absolute sovereignty, but I want to be childlike in my surprise and my joy.

Through decades of being a believer, I have never tired of seeing God’s mighty hand on my life.  It’s never become boring or blasé or tedious.

And my prayer is that each and every miracle, mammoth or miniscule (in my eyes), will continue to bring me to “Wow!”  I pray that I can always be surprisingly, perpetually awestruck. Is it your prayer, too?

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19