Million Miles in a Thousand Years

So I just so happen to have a best friend who is an absolute bookworm. (I think she'll be ok with me saying that). Part of Emily's job is reading new books for her school. Needless to say she is a constant source of book recommendations. So, if you never need one, ask Emily Oliver. She'll help you out. When Emily came in town, she left me a list of books to read and one of them was Donald Miller's Million Miles in a Thousand Years. He is also the author of Blue Like Jazz. I absolutely love his writing style and his honest interpretation of the way he sees life.

I'm only 30% through the book (according to my kindle) but I already love it. I was reading it last night and one part really stuck out to me. Hang on because it's a little long but worth the read.

"We get robbed of the glory of life because we aren't capable of remembering how we got here. When you are born, you wake up slowly to everything. Your brain doesn't stop growing until you turn 26, so from birth to 26, God is slowly turning the lights on, and you're groggy and pointing at things saying circle and blue and car and then sex and job and healthcare. The experience is so slow you could easily come to believe life isn't that big of a deal, that life isn't staggering. What I'm saying is I think life is staggering and we're just used to it. We all are like spoiled children no longer impressed with the gifts we're given-it's just another sunset, just another rainstorm moving in other the mountain, just another child being born, just another funeral."


"If I have hope, it's that God sat over the dark nothing and wrote you and me specifically, into the story and put us in with the sunset and the rainstorm as though to say, Enjoy your place in my story. The beauty of it means you matter, and you can create within it even as I have created you.
I've wondered, though, if one of the reasons we fail to acknowledge the brilliance of life is because we don't want the responsibility inherent in the acknowledgement. We don't want to be characters in a story because characters have to move and breathe and face conflict with courage. And if life isn't remarkable, then we don't have to do any of that; we can be unwilling victims rather than grateful participants."

Wow. That really resonated with me. We get so used to seeing everyday things that it is easy for us to forget how remarkable even the little things in life are. Everything around us is a miracle because God chose to create everything that surrounds you. The hummingbird that can flap its wings so rapidly, that freckle on your nose, that ant crawling along the blade of grass. But I do think some of us get reminded of the majesty of life when big things happen. We take pictures of beautiful sunsets or views from the top of the mountain because in those moments we remember how small we are and how beautiful life can be. But I encourage you to take some time to think about Donald Miller's words.  Appreciate even the small things in life. And don't forget that you were put on this Earth for a purpose.  You are important, you have meaning. Don't go through the motions of life. Feel every experience and know that each experience is totally unique to you. Your life is special and different than anyone else's. We all have a different story to tell.  Is your story going the way you want it to? If not, change it. When you start living your life with a purpose then you start realizing how remarkable life can be.