An Ordinary Miracle?

I like the following song, the words are simple, yet they provoke thoughts of the wonders of creation and the simple things of life we take for granted. But I don't totally agree with the lyrics. Because I don't believe in ordinary miracles. The everyday stuff of life is no "ordinary miracle". There is no such thing. All miracles are extraordinary, whether large...or small.

IT'S JUST ANOTHER ORDINARY MIRACLE TODAY:

"Life is like a gift they say

Wrapped up for you everyday"

"The sky knows when it's time to snow

You don't need to teach a seed to grow"

"Birds in winter have their fling

and always make it home by spring"

"The sun comes up and shines so bright

Then disappears again at night"

IT'S JUST ANOTHER ORDINARY MIRACLE TODAY!

You are languishing on your deathbed. You've still so much of life yet to live! You're only 45. Yet here you are, face to face with the snatcher-of-all-that-is-most-precious right now, time itself. What thoughts must be going through your mind as you try not to see yourself absent among your family, relatives and friends. You struggle not to think about your goodbyes. A naturalist you are, who has always seen the wonder in the big and little things of life. In every season, you've always been amazed at the details of life on this planet and all its creation. Rejoicing over a beautiful sunrise or sunset. Stopping to watch a caterpillar crawling by, amazed at its miraculous change soon to come. Watching the eagle gliding high in the sky, or tiny frail ants working to keep themselves fed for the winter. Things like that. So it's gonna be just as hard saying so long to this beautiful planet that has been your lovely home.

The doctor doesn't think you'll last through the night. It has been a long haul for you since you were first diagnosed with the dreaded C word. Now the end is here.

When the morning arrives, all your family and friends think first of you when they awake, wondering if they'll see you alive today or not. They have all been so caring and kind throughout this whole trial. You have grown closer to them than they probably even realize, and you appreciate them so much! You must not think about that anymore. Or you will lose your composure completely.

The night is a long one, very long. But you can't complain. It really has been a comfort, certainly better than a short night, especially since time really is now of the essence. You finally drop off to sleep around 2 or 3, not because you wanted to, it just happened. You were planning on staying awake the whole night of your last night of living. It was a deep craving to hang on to life with a desire you've never experienced before. Stay awake and stay alive. What a burning desire it is - to live and keep living.

At the very part you thought was your end, before you finally dropped off to sleep, you layed there as big tears rolled from your eyes and prayed. God seemed so real now, more than he ever had before. He was there and he was listening. You could just feel it. You went over so much, confessed so much and you thanked him and praised him for so much. Okay, it's time, I'm ready to go, you said to Him. "Oh, and by the way, if you could spare a few more years...or even a few more days, I would really appreciate the kind gesture." And that was the end...

Morning arrived just like it always does - a beautiful new day. The early morning hours have a beauty of their own. There is peace and serenity that can only be experienced in the early morning hours of dawn. But as the morning hours wore on, things did not change. It remained ever so beautiful, peaceful and serene. No traffic noise, no alarm clock. No nurses shuffling by. Not even the sound of a bird singing his happy morning song. Nothing. Just peace and quiet.

The hospital - certainly still there and the late night shift has been exchanged for the early morning shift. Why is it so quiet and peaceful? There is one person who knows the answer. It's you. You awoke today! You - who wasn't expected to live through the night. Another day! And more time - the stuff life is made of! Good Ole' Father Time - the soul of the world!

"Praise be to God, my Maker, I'm still alive!" You rejoice like a man at the end of the rainbow grabbing the gold. You feel strong. And renewed. And healed. Another day! I love this precious moment. It's mine right now. Hmm...am I healed? I don't know, but it sure feels like it. I'm walking on air! I'm still here! Time...to look up and see the sun again, to tell everyone how much they mean to me. This, of all days, is like no other I've ever experienced.. it is my best because I appreciate it SO! I realize now It's all I have...or want. Just another day. Nothing else matters now. And the realization that today is not just another day makes me truly thankful for it. I appreciate it! This day of life!

Today - it's what we live in. It's all any of us have. And it's the best. Because yesterday is gone, and we don't know what tomorrow will bring.

So, my friend, let's invigorate our spirits with life - and appreciate it all the more! And rejoice with a thankful heart. Because life...my life and your life, IS a miracle!

 “God never wrought miracles to convince atheism, because his ordinary works convince it.”  ~Francis Bacon Sr.

 “In wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia.”   ~Charles Lindbergh

“We can see a thousand miracles around us every day. What is more supernatural than an egg yolk turning into a chicken?”   ~S. Parkes Cadman

“In those parts of the world where learning and science has prevailed, miracles have ceased; but in those parts of it as are barbarous and ignorant, miracles are still in vogue”   ~Ethan Allen

“I think miracles exist in part as gifts and in part as clues that there is something beyond the flat world we see.”   ~Peggy Noonan

Once all struggle is grasped, miracles are possible.”   ~Mao Tse-Tung

“A miracle is an act or event out of the order of nature and unaccountable, as beating a normal hand of four kings and an ace with four aces and a king.”   ~Ambrose Bierce

To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle, every cubic inch of space is a miracle.   ~Walt Whitman

Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.”   ~C.S. LEWIS

“Love works in miracles every day: such as weakening the strong, and strengthening the weak; making fools of the wise, and wise men of fools; favoring the passions, destroying reason, and in a word, turning everything topsy-turvy.”   ~Marguerite De Valois

“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?”   ~Henry David Thoreau

“Miracles happen to those who believe in them.”   ~Bernard Berenson

“I prefer you to make mistakes in kindness than work miracles in unkindness.”   ~Mother Teresa

“Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature.”  ~Saint Augustine

“The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.”  ~Pablo Casals

“Deep listening is miraculous for both listener and speaker. When someone receives us with open-hearted, non-judging, intensely interested listening, our spirits expand.” Sue  ~Patton Thoele

“To me every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle.”  ~Walter Chrysler

“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.”  ~Paulo Coelho

“Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. The real miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense everything that comes from love is a miracle.”  ~Marie Lloyd

“True miracles are created by men when they use the courage and intelligence that God gave them”

“Forgiveness is the answer to the child's dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is made clean again.”  ~Dag Hammarskjold