I Believe in Miracles

While I was raised to believe that the glass is always half-full instead of half-empty, there are times when I must admit that it is easier to be a cynic than an optimist. Many days it seems as if the odds are stacked against us, shielding the ray of light from our view. But this week, I have been taught to believe in miracles.

I have been captivated by the ways in which we have seen the movement of God in the news covering the tragedy in Tucson. It was a doctor reporting from the hospital in Tucson that led me to my knees this week, hoping to have faith that defies the odds.

The doctor was telling about how anyone with a gunshot wound like the kind experienced by Congresswoman Giffords has only a 10% survival rate. Nine out of ten victims of a similar tragedy die or remain paralyzed. Only one in ten recovers. Congresswoman Giffords is this one. She is defying all the odds - opening her eyes, sitting on the side of her bed, raising her hands towards the sky. She is a miracle - a tangible expression of hope.

The doctors shared what their eyes had seen. They told about the statistics. They explained how a huge potential for paralysis exists in similar patients. They said that the Congresswoman had already exceeded their expectations. They then shared words that penetrated my heart.

Miracles happen every day.

We are wise to acknowledge miracles.

The physicians are scientists. They know how the body operates. They can identify each of our parts and the many arteries flowing through our limbs. They know what to do in many cases - how to ease a person's pain, how to make the blood flow, how to treat a wound. They do not, however, know how to make a gunshot victim raise her hands or open her eyes. These acts are the work of someone else. These signs of hope do not belong to the field of medicine. It is wise to acknowledge miracles.

Why, then, do we not approach God with more faith? Why do we fail to see God as one who can make a miracle? Why have we forgotten that miracles happen every day?

I know of many people, places and situations that are in need of a miracle. I know people who are losing their homes who need a miracle. I know couples who long to have a child but who are so far infertile who are in need of a miracle. I know patients suffering with cancer who are in need of a miracle. I know marriages that are falling apart that are in need of a miracle. I know a city where innocent people are being shot, where politics is polarizing, where too many people are sleeping outside, where a school system is known for what it is not instead of what it is, where there are so many resources and so much scarcity. I know a city that is in need of a miracle.

God, increase my faith. Let me not forget that you are still in the business of miracles. Reveal to me my part in making miracles happen.

I believe in miracles. Yes, I believe in miracles.