The Language of the Divine
February is known for its holiday that commemorates romantic love, but love in all of its iterations, is really what we live for, to love and be loved. This month, Katie writes about this broader context of love and how as Willa Cather wrote, "Where there is great love, there are always miracles." As we continue through a long winter, we hope all of you find yourselves surrounded by the warmth of love.
Collecting Miracle Moments One Story at a Time.
Joan and Katie
Even with Valentine’s Day behind us, I do feel like February is the month of Love. When I think about love, the first thing that comes to mind is an often-read passage from Corinthians that begins, “Love is patient, love is kind…” Anyone who has been married a long time, or has reared children, can agree that these ideals are good to aspire to, though on occasion it can be hard to meet expectations. We are human after all. But it begs the questions about what exactly love is if it is not perfect, where does it come from, and what does love have to do with miracles?
I read a story a while back about a South Carolina restaurant owner, Eliot Middleton, who fixed up broken down cars in his spare time and gave them away to those in need in his rural community. The idea was sparked when he hosted a food drive in 2020 and many local families walked four miles to come because there is no public transportation. Prior to getting into the restaurant business, he had been an auto mechanic for 15 years alongside his dad, who died in 2020. He started calling around for discarded vehicles and initially funded the repairs himself. Between the elation of his used car recipients and the generosity of those who donated their cars to him, word spread fast, eventually leading to the formation of a nonprofit. As a local hero, he was nominated and received the Jefferson Award, a national honor for those who “multiply the good.” One man saw a need that matched his skill set and sparked an idea, attracting others to his efforts with many grateful recipients along the way.
The idea that God is love, the ultimate refrain of all three of the monotheistic faith traditions, gets to the heart of love’s magnanimity, pureness of being, and Divine origin. It is no wonder that love, when filtered through the tedious weight of the human condition, loses its luminescent and transcendent power much of the time. And yet, Mr. Middleton is one of countless stories that plays out every day and throughout the centuries.
We humans have found a way to harness love's power some of the time despite ourselves. St. Augustine said, “Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.” Love is a habit we can cultivate, it allows us to multiply the good, to forgive, and to be the miracle for someone else when our name is called. (Katie)