Extra-Ordinary
Perhaps a coincidence is really an invitation;
an opportunity to look with gratitude on the surface of the event,
but by looking beyond, there is a deeper meaning to be found.
-The Miracle Collectors
With the celebrations of Easter and Passover still fresh in our minds, April is a reminder of rebirth, renewal, and miracles. As Katie writes about in this month's blog, it's the perfect time of year to remind ourselves to be on the lookout for miracles in the little things of our life's experiences and look at them in a new way. We hope Spring brings the warmth of renewal to you.
Collecting Miracle Moments One Story at a Time.
Joan and Katie
In my decades long study of the miraculous, the biggest epiphany for me has been a recognition that miracles are available to all of us. It’s true that some miracles look more like the biblical, thunderbolt variety, walking away from an encounter with a serial killer for example. Or an inexplicable recovery from a terminal illness. Most of us will never experience anything like this, and, in fact, quite the opposite is the norm – the miracles that never come with loved ones who couldn’t be cured and prayers that are met with silence. Fortunately, and despite our sometimes-chaotic, messy lives, miracles are on a continuum that offers us a smorgasbord of opportunity to bask in all that is good and wonder-filled in our lives.
As I reflect on miracles with the rebirth of spring outside my window, I’m reminded of a story I heard from a friend not long ago about a woman, shortly after 9/11, who was expecting her second child. Her best friend, Bart, had died when the towers fell. She called Bart’s mom and asked if it would be okay if she named her baby Bart if she had a son. Of course, Bart’s mom agreed. One day, late in her pregnancy, she came home from work early because she had a routine checkup with her Ob/Gyn. Her husband, and the nanny, told her she had the wrong week – it was same time the following week – but she insisted it was that day and left for her appointment. Sure enough, the doctor’s office confirmed that her appointment was indeed the following week and they couldn’t fit her in for hours. She asked if she could wait because she’d left work early and was already there. When she was finally seen by the doctor, it was discovered that all her amniotic fluid was gone. She was immediately sent to the hospital for an emergency cesarean section and delivered a baby boy who she named Bart. The doctor remarked to her, “You had an angel looking out for you today.”
According to poet and philosopher Noah benShea, “A miracle is often the willingness to see the common in an uncommon way.” The “common” can be astonishing and yet, we allow it, more often than not, to pass us by or become expected: when we are in too big of a hurry to notice the newly bloomed magnolia tree in the nearby park; when a sunset of pink and gold, a show from the heavens that will never be quite the same again, doesn’t stop us in our tracks; or when we move on too quickly from the stories of our lives, the ones where fate has smiled down on us. Yet, personally, I believe our sanity depends on a rethinking of the good experiences we have had, on vigilance in noticing what beauty our little corner of the planet offers us. The stark realities of our world necessitate that we don a pair of rose-colored glasses now and then. There will always be miracles to uncover. (Katie)