Sometimes I think that our days are filled with miracles that we don’t even notice. Waking up each morning is amazing in itself. If we’re lucky we doze off each night into an almost coma like slumber. The world is still happening as we sleep, but we are unaware of its beating heart until the sun peeks in our windows and we come back to life. That is an incredible process and one for which we are often not nearly as grateful as we should be.

The cycle of nature is a miracle as well. Right now my yard is brown and bare. The leaves have fallen from trees. The flowers have curled into brown patches from exposure to the cold. The grass is not growing and only sports little green sprigs here and there. In Texas we can expect big changes by the middle of March. Azaleas and roses will bloom in profusion. The grass will turn a lovely shade of green. Sings of spring and life will be everywhere. 

It’s difficult not to believe in miracles because we are constantly treated to them, even if we don’t happen to notice. The birth of a child is the most incredible miracle of all. A new life coming into the world is deeply spiritual. Every little one is important and bears the potential of creating miracles of his or her own. 

Doctors and nurses perform miracles every single day. They save lives that might otherwise have been lost without their knowledge and compassion. Sometimes they even develop new procedures, medicines, vaccines that miraculously keep us healthier and living longer. While many have grumbled and complained during the Covid pandemic, doctors and nurses have been our miracle workers over and over again, sometimes at the risk of their own lives. 

I have often pondered the process of learning and how miraculous it is. We humans are able to start as illiterate babes and eventually advance to readers, writers, calculators, critical thinkers. The working of our brains and our senses are marvels in their own rights. The process of becoming that is guided by our parents and our teachers is stunning.

People ask me if I believe in miracles and my answer is always a resounding “yes.” The only caveat that I provide is that miracles do not have to be of the parting of waters variety. I think that they are often quieter and more common than we think. I believe that they usually happen in the most unexpected ways. I also know that someone does not have to fit certain characteristics to be touched by a miracle. They can happen to any of us at any time, and they in fact come at us many times during a day. 

Friendship is a kind of miracle. Passing through life is an adventure. Finding people to love who are willing to return that love is a gift that should be treasured. Love itself is a miracle because none of us is perfect. We will mess up in our relationships, if we haven’t already. Someone who loves us in spite of our flaws is a wonder and we never quite know where we will find such people, but we do. 

We have all had a rough couple of years, some more so than others. We’ve lost some good people and virtually everyone has experience tense moments when someone we loved was very sick or dealing with great difficulties or even died. It’s been difficult to understand why we are reacting so differently to our challenges and why there is so much quibbling and even violence across the globe. I suspect that fear of the unknown future is partly to blame, but also an unwillingness to be more understanding of each other. In many ways it is a miracle that we are still moving forward even though we sometimes insist that nothing good has come from our pandemic woes. 

Instead I see the miracle of our children continuing to learn albeit in different circumstances than they would ordinarily experience. The miracle of their resilience and flexibility is carrying them through the challenges. So too have most people been able to continue working in some capacity and we’ve even managed to help those less fortunate a bit more than usual. The generosity of so many people around the world is yet another miraculous characteristic of our human spirits. We have adapted and invented and found ways to muddle through the twenty four months that have sent us up and down and all around. I see that drive of ours as a miracle of its own. As usual we have also seen many heroes emerge who gave us the gifts of their talents. They’ve healed us, made us laugh, inspired us, worked doggedly to keep us and our families safe. Ours is not a dog eat dog world, but one of great compassion for the most part. We would do well not to ignore all the goodness that surrounds us because it is a miracle too.

I am a person who believes that miracles abound. We need only open our eyes and our ears and our hearts to see them. Then we must celebrate them with our gratitude. Never take those blessings for granted. They are far too amazing to so unseen and unappreciated.