Uncovering Miracles
As spring gets underway we hope you are on the look out for the miracles that surround us all, especially at this time of year. This month Katie writes about the importance of shifting our focus towards goodness and grace in the midst of our chaotic world.
Spring is the season of hope and renewal after any long winter and is especially welcome this year. I am presently visiting the grandchildren I had not seen in a year and definitely feel a spring in my step. Reflecting back over the year of Covid, I recognize that it reinforced what I already knew: that friends and family are the foundation of a substantive life and staying connected by whatever means necessary is paramount; that there is plenty of room in the beautiful outdoors, even in the dead of winter, to both keep your distance and place yourself in the view of something magical, a place to catch your breath and take your breath away at the same time; and that summoning gratitude and hope, love and laughter, or even a long lost friend, are well worth the effort. How easily the superficial comforts slipped away without much fanfare, like a haircut, a manicure, a gym, or even a fancy or fun evening out. Most of us were left to our own company more than we are used to and perhaps from that vantage point had a better glimpse of our soul.
In the last several weeks as we have done the virtual roll out for The Miracle Collectors and spoken to some thirty radio, podcast, and video hosts, one question continues to haunt me. How can you explain the idea of miracles when there is so much chaos, tragedy, and mess in the world? There is no good answer to this question, by the way, and many greater minds than my own have contemplated it in one fashion or another for thousands of years. Obvious (and incomplete) answers would say that, on the one hand, miracles simply don’t exist, or, on the other hand, that they do but they are a matter of faith.
A recent story I heard may shed some light on this. A few nights after the massacre at a King Soopers in Boulder, CO, where a memorial was taking place, a young man approached a commander affiliated with the Boulder police department who was a good friend of slain officer Eric Talley. He gave him a folded American flag and explained that Officer Talley had come upon him and some of his friends years before and caught them with drugs and underage drinking. Instead of arresting them, Officer Talley gave them a fatherly lecture on doing the right thing and finding the right path. The encounter immediately changed the trajectory of this young man’s life to, indeed, do the right thing and find the right path. Recent reports indicate that Officer Talley was the last life the gunman took because once he engaged the shooter, with back up, the gunman was focused on the officers until he was wounded and apprehended. We talk about the concept of “Be the Miracle,” and clearly, Talley became the miracle for this young man when he was a boy. We talk about the ripple effect of a miracle and what better ripple than changing someone’s life to the good and for the better. The young man showed a depth of gratitude for Talley that compelled him to find a way to show it.
What I have learned is that these experiences remind us that we are not alone – we are connected to each other by virtues that resonate with all of us: courage, kindness, sacrifice, showing up, and yes, doing the right thing. And, I believe, we are reminded that God is present in our lives even in the face of evil, poverty, disease, and all manner of other tragedies. Miracles remind us that we can shift our focus and change our perception. Kind of like that feeling in spring when rebirth and hope fill the air. At the end of the day, what choice do we really have? While we are still breathing in and out, and while we still can, why not choose to see the common and the not so common in an uncommon way, to grasp onto grace and goodness wherever and whenever we can? Somehow, some way, it is always there. (Katie)