Timing is Everything

A practice of gratitude gives us needed perspective to soften the adversity
that is part of all of our lives.
-The Miracle Collectors

Time is not always on our side as the saying goes, but in miracles that may not be the case. As Joan writes many miracles have a basis in their timing. Look no further than the parting of the Red Sea or the events surrounding the final appearance of Our Lady at Fatima. Even those who refute religious miracles and prefer a scientific explanation are left with the intriguing question of timing... As we enter the holiday season with Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, we are reminded to be grateful, not only for the beauty that surrounds us but for the timing of the events that have brought us this far.

Collecting Miracle Moments One Story at a Time.

Joan and Katie

A common denominator in so many miracle stories is timing: being in the right place at the right time, listening to your inner voice when it tells you something isn't quite right, or a chance meeting that changes your life. But timing alone isn't enough - another key ingredient is an acknowledgment of what is in front of you, or in your heart, and saying yes to its bidding. 

I was thinking of the importance of timing as November signals the month of gratitude and anticipation of the holidays to come (not to mention the actual changing of the time). Gratefulness like that we celebrate at Thanksgiving, also seems inherent in miracle stories - in twenty years of speaking about miracles no one has ever said they wish they never had that pesky miracle!  Fortunately, miracle stories continue to be shared, and, as Katie says...to us they're even better than chocolate. Sweet and delicious but also meaningful and intense.
 
When my 95-year-old mother-in-law called to let me know her caregiver Belinda had a story, I knew I had to listen. Belinda explained about having once been asked by a distressed looking woman for $5 to pay for gas. The woman was persistent, and after a while Belinda gave her the money, though given the way the woman looked she was surprised that the woman had a car. Belinda never expected to see the woman again, or hear as Paul Harvey would say, "the rest of the story," but it was the rest of the story that changed her perspective. Belinda recounted the day a nicely dressed woman came up to her and said, "Thank you. The $5 you gave me, got me to a job interview. I got the job and my life transformed from homeless to happy." After hearing her story, I was reminded of G. K. Chesterton's description of gratitude where he says, "Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."

Thinking about wonder, to me, there is nothing on this earth more 'wonder-ful' than the birth of a child. A number of stories I've heard recently involved soon-to-be first-time mothers who felt something wasn't quite right, even after being reassured by their physician. They were brave enough to listen to their internal voice and get themselves to the hospital. In each case, their timing was impeccable as they were already there when an unanticipated life-threatening crisis erupted. Instead of the tragedy that would have unfolded had they not been willing to have faith in themselves, they each now have happy and healthy little ones, even as they are happy and healthy themselves. As I often inscribe in the books I sign, miracles do indeed abound.

In fact, years back, we did a survey asking people what was the biggest miracle in their lives. The response was overwhelmingly the same - finding their soulmate. In a world of over 8 billion people, it does feel remarkable. Nearly all agreed that timing played an important role; perhaps by saying yes to an event that they initially wanted to skip, or being in a place they had never been to before, or even taking a risk on an unknown encounter with someone who 'just happened' to be in town.

What I've learned over these years of speaking about miracles is that the incidents of our lives are full of possibility - and often full of miracles, there for the taking. Gratitude for this miracle of life, of love, of nature, and of hope for the future is a responsibility we all share. In this time of uncertainty and tragedy in the world, more than ever, we are called upon to spread gratitude, because as Henri Nouwen tells us, "Gratitude embraces all of life: the good and the bad, the joyful and the painful, the holy and the not so holy." I think it's time. (Joan)