I was recently reminded of a story that reminded me of the miraculous things that happen around me every day. To keep in the season, let me tell the story in a winter setting:
A man found himself stranded in the woods during a terrible blizzard. The man, believing himself to be a man of faith, prayed to God that He would save him from the storm. Not long after, another man pulled up in a horse drawn sleigh and asked him if he needed help. The man said, “No, I have faith that God will save me,” so the man in the sleigh left and the other man stayed, standing in the snow.
A few hours passed, and the man was now waist-deep in snow when the same sleigh came up. Again, the man in the sleigh asked if he needed any help. Again, he said, “I have faith that God will save me.” So, the man in the sleigh left once again.
Three hours later the man was up to his neck in snow. The man in the sleigh returned and said, “Please let me help you!” The man remained adamant saying that God would save him so the man in the sleigh left again.
The man finally froze to death and in heaven he found himself face to face with God. He said, “God, I was a man of faith. I had faith that you would save me from the blizzard. Why didn’t you?” God looked at the man, shook his head and said, “I sent you the sleigh three times. Why didn’t you get in?”
So many times, we look for explosions, fireworks or some other great expression of something to consider what happens to be a miracle when most miracles go by unnoticed. Every day that we spend on earth is a miracle; every breath we take, the sounds that we hear, the things we see on a daily basis, all of these things are miracles that we many times do not appreciate.
Have you ever considered a red light or backed up traffic to be a miracle? That red light could be keeping you from being in a terrible accident. Would you think that being laid off would be a miracle? That could lead you to a job that is more fulfilling and meaningful that you could have ever believed. A flat tire, lost keys, long lines, other delays, all of these can be miracles that we do not recognize because we do not see what might have happened if they had not happened.
I saw a quote the other day that said something like, “Coincidences are miracles that God chooses not to take credit for.” How many coincidences have you had in recent days that turned out to be positive in your life? What, in your life, “just happened” that became a great turning point for you? What little things occurred for you that led you to a better point in your life?
Every day that we go through is a miracle to be savored and appreciated. If we start to look at our lives from the proper perspective and appreciate the “minor miracles” in our lives we will find that we see our lives differently and know that we, in fact, are miracles ourselves.
Look beyond what is considered mundane and see the miracles that lie within.
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