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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Volunteer (11/23/06)
Every Step Is A Miracle

Something occurred to me tonight.

I suppose that I've always known it but for whatever reason, tonight, it was brought home with startling clarity.

I won't make this long. I just thought that you ought to know.

I was walking my dog (ol' Rocky) on my property.

It was almost midnight but he seemed to feel that we needed to go out for a walk so I volunteered.

As we walked through the night, past the trees which are now bare of leaves, I happened to glance up and caught sight of a half moon.

It reminded me of a night long ago, when I was walking in a woods on a similar night with a gun in my hands.

I thanked God for providing me that silvery image and noted that it was a miracle.

As I heard the crunching of the leaves under my and "Rocko's" feet, I began to think.

You know, every step we take is a miracle.

Every lung full of breath that we take on a cold winter night is a miracle.

Every moment we spend on this earth is something that needs to be held, and wondered at.

It's not just the big miracles like a silvery moon through the bare branches of an old oak tree that need to be cherished.

Two of my brothers have problems walking.

Both are pretty much paralyzed.

But I can walk my dog who is now Twelve.

Do you get that?

He is Twelve which is roughly Eighty Four in "Dog Years" and I am Fifty One which, if I read my body right, is approximately 100 in "Human Years" and yet, we can still both enjoy a walk at midnight.

Do you understand how many people would give everything that they have for such an honor?

Almighty God...I am humbled that You would grant me such grace...

Please allow me more of the same although I know that I don't deserve such mercy.

Help me to keep understanding how much You give me every day and every night.

Help me never to take for granted the small moments of my life because what You give is never small. In fact...

EVERY STEP IS A MIRACLE
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This article has been read 925 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Bella Louise
12/01/06
This is excellent-it's a beautiful idea and well-executed. But where is the "volunteer"? I read this three times in case I missed it. It's very well-written indeed, but I can't find anything to do with the topic! Anyway, this is really nice. I enjoyed reading it.
Paul Potenza
12/03/06
Thank you for your comments. They mean a lot to me.

I kind of thought that the "volunteer" message might be lost but to explain it a little further, I "volunteered" to take my dog for a walk that night, somewhat like I volunteered to go for a walk in another woods years earlier with the U.S. Marine Corps.

That's where I was with a gun in my hands.

It's where I realized that that every breath that I took and every step that I took was a miracle.

Peace.

Pauly
Sara Harricharan
12/06/06
Good title, pretty good reading. It was confusing to see how it tied into the topic until I read your note/comment. But otherwise, a pretty good read. A little more description would bring a more realistic air to it though. A 'you are there' atmosphere. Just a thought! :)
Edy T Johnson
12/08/06
"It was almost midnight but he seemed to feel that we needed to go out for a walk so I volunteered."

The WC topic IS there, and I didn't miss it!

I relish your easy-going reflective style of writing, Paul. It is almost as if your reader and you are having a devotional-time together. Your stuff is so authentic! I love it.
Marilyn Schnepp 
01/31/07
Something is amiss with My Tracker: They're supposed to tell me when my favorite Author is in print and they didn't! (I'll have to have a "word" with them about this oversight.) Wow, Every Step Is a Miracle - Terrific! It's so real, so honest, so down to earth, something to "think" about...and we take it all for granted. You make everything sound so logical, reasonable and I'm in awe everytime I read your work. Thanks. I don't miss my THursday and Sunday Syndicated Columnist (LG) as much as I used to, NOW that I have you.