That would be...

Happy New Year! :) May God bless you abundantly as you seek him in the year to come!! In the meantime...

"Glimpses of Perfection. Snapshots of Life." That's what we like to capture at the CWP. We like to get all warm and fuzzy about seeing God move in troubled situations and have some really great thing happen. I confess. I love to see prayers answered in a favorable way i.e. from a human perspective. I love to be where I know God has stepped in to grace me with a "heavenly kiss" of sorts. But what about the "Snapshots of Life" part? Well, we have those too.

The hard drive on my computer crashed yesterday. yeaaah...

With it went the work I had on the next issue of the CWP - which was scheduled to publish this weekend, current costume research for my sewing projects, some new material squirreled away in my Five Fat File Folders and probably a few minor changes I made to the book proposal I'm working on with Liz. Other than that, God was really gracious.

Ignorance is bliss. In 15+ years of having computers, this is the first crash I've experienced. The good news is I backed everything up on November 4th and I keep a copy of CWP related stuff elsewhere, well all except for the issue I was working on. I don't think I lost anything too terribly important. At least I hope I didn't.

Other "Snapshots of Life" can be the two scraped knees (on the same bouncy boy) that I fixed last night, last week's broken ejector pump which cost us $1400 plus a $200 septic pump that probably wasn't needed, the other month's broken dishwasher and last year's move. Who was it that said, "These are the times that try men's souls"? Yet, these same trials are "Snapshots of Life" in all their glory. God is in these times just as much as when we see the "Glimpses of Perfection."

It's trials that show how mature we are as Christians. I admit that although the failure of last week's ejector pump (that pumps goop out of the basement bathroom) was annoying, required nasty clean up and cost a pretty penny, it didn't undo me like yesterday's computer crash. {sigh} I still have big holes in my character.

Romans 8:28 says ALL THINGS, not some or most or a couple things, but ALL THINGS work together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. I certainly love him, know that part of my calling is writing and know that the computer is my tool to accomplish that. Why should I sweat it? Honestly? I shouldn't.

Lessons learned? God is even in the little things. Backup your hard drive frequently, especially if it holds your livelihood or irreplaceable memories. Anything that God takes from you is for a reason. This little mishap got Rich moving forward on a project God laid on his heart. As for me, I was reminded again that I shouldn't jump to conclusions until I talk to someone in the know. Thank God for computer savvy brothers with big hearts and listening ears that call on unexpected days. With a hope and a prayer, I might even be able to get the rest of my data.

In the meantime, I encourage you to record the "Snapshots of Life" this year. Keep them as close to your heart as you do the "Glimpses of Perfection." God is in both of them.