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Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Miraculous Distractions



Miracle defined:


Any amazing or wonderful occurrence; A marvellous (sic) event manifesting a supernatural act of a divine agent (WordWeb Pro).

an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs;
an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment (Merriam-Webster).

Many people, even Christians, feel uncomfortable with the miraculous. Do we really believe that Christ changed the water to wine and calmed the wind and the waves on the Sea of Galilee? Do we really believe that he gave sight to the blind and healed lepers?... God’s flair for the miraculous is something we Christians must accept because the miracle of the resurrection is essential to our faith. (Through the Year with Jimmy Carter, page 345).



Last night I was seriously constipated early in the evening so drank half a bottle of prune juice. The rest of the night I was up with diarrhea. In the midst of such an experience can I believe that life has great meaning and purpose; that I (ensconced in my tiny bathroom) have any significance at all in the vast universe; that mankind is a noble creature with a soul and with a divine mission determined by God? Well, sometimes I must admit with a sore butt from wiping, it’s a little difficult to believe in spiritual convictions garnered in other more uplifting moments filled with tranquility and awe. So the first thing I must remember in considering the miraculous is that there will be moments when belief in miracles comes with difficulty.

Yet I do believe and experience the ascendancy of divine love. Much like when I first got my little dog Stanley as a puppy. Somehow the fact that he relieved himself all over the house did not seem to matter in the big picture of things. And it is in the big picture of things that miracles are tenable.

Sometimes it is simply necessary to lose sight of the big picture and take care of exigent details. I even believe that this is God’s will. How many people when they first made love gave a darn about the “big picture”? –nevertheless in the profoundest sense they were deeply involved in a grander and bigger picture of God’s plan for the universe and for each individual in it. It is greatly difficult for humans to accept the limited nature of human perception. The mere fact of an intense temporary micro focus does nothing to eliminate broader macro meanings. In short, the big picture is always awesome and partakes of the miraculous even when we are mired in details and feel alienated from expansiveness.

There is a saying, “Hang in there, this too shall pass.” God grant that we may believe so deeply that moments of distraction are accepted confidently as entirely within God’s miraculous will and will serve to strengthen rather than weaken our faith.





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