On my way to work I pass by 2 things which I seem to take for granted.

• Old Hickory Lake – Even though this is a manmade lake, sometimes it provides some spectacular views….such as those cold mornings where fog creeps off the surface of its waters. There are those times when I’m driving home and see the sun setting on the horizon on the waters. The unfortunate thing is that I never visit the lake. There are some people living in ordinary corn fields of Kansas who have no lake in sight, who would love to have a lake like this in their backyard.
• Andrew Jackson’s Home – The Hermitage. Bordered by encroaching commericalism – a Kroger on the east side; a Sonic and Retirement Home on the west side – this estate provides a brief route of beauty in a concrete jungle of capitalism on my way to work….Untouched fields of scenery…Tall trees which were damaged but not destroyed by a 1998 tornado. Regardless of what you think of Andrew Jackson himself, one cannot argue with the beauty of his estate.

Both of these places started out as something ordinary. God turned them into something extraordinary.
God took a group of fishermen, a tax collector, a doctor, among many others and turned them into great leaders of the faith. If Jesus had not come into the lives of these people, no doubt they would have continued to be ordinary people.
He turned ordinary water to wine at the wedding of a friend (John 2:1-11). No doubt many wedding guests were too drunk to realize the unique taste of the wine, nor the miracle that had just occurred. They were too busy with their own lives.
Many times we fail to see the beauty in life. We fail to allow God to use us to make our lives extraordinary.