I Believe in Miracles

I believe in miracles. I know, I know, miracles are a touchy subject for 21^st century intellectuals. But I do.

When we read about God parting the seas, providing food in arid places, and giving liberty to captives, we walk out of church roused by history, but unconvinced that the God of yesterday is the God of today.

Have we forgotten the God of Old Testament and the God of the New Testament is the God of today? We don’t need to look into the annals of history to provide examples—simply look around.

The human heart beats on rhythmic cue, the sun rises every morning, and the planets move on orbital paths that never cross each other. Yes, God’s invisible hand can be seen in large things. But what about the mundane, the everyday, the tedium of life?

For my mother an empty refrigerator, a bare cupboard, a depleted gas tank were wombs creating breathing miracles.

My mother believed in miracles. No matter our situation, she was a pillar of strength and possessed a sense of joy beyond comprehension in the face of trials. Instead of worrying out loud, calling a friend, or begging for money, my mother would gather us around the kitchen table and write out our needs on a prayer chart. She knew God would not let us down.

She saw beyond what was in front of her. She saw things for what they could be. An empty refrigerator was waiting to be filled; our cupboards had creative meals just waiting to be made, and our gas tank miraculously ran on empty for what felt like years. She believed in miracles when no one else could.

There is a joy in living open-handed and waiting in expectation. Anything received is a miraculous gift from God. And in the simple, unforeseen, unexpected providence of God, there is joy and fullness of life that cannot be explained.

So the question remains, how do we find fullness of life in the emptiness of days? I may not have the answer, but this I know is true: when we live lives open-handed and in expectation, God never fails to provide what we need, when we need it. There is fullness of life in the joy of the miraculous. 

by Bianca