We read in the Bible about many miracles that supposedly happened. Many people today dismiss them out of hand as myths or creative inventions and do not accept that such things as miracles exist. Others staunchly insist they were literally true. Some believe that these incidents happened, but only demonstrate some law of nature that people did not understand at the time. For me, there are daily miracles that happen which are every bit as mysterious as the ones in ancient spiritual literature.
For example, how do people find one another? Not only is this a big planet where the likelihood – of, say, my wife and I – ever meeting must be astronomical; this entire physical creation is gigantic and souls could exist here for eons without ever running into one another. Let me tell you our story.
My wife and I first met decades ago at one of the spiritual classes I taught. She was one of many students who attended, and we did not have a personal relationship back then. Thirteen years passed. She was proctoring at a regional academic spell bowl. My son wanted to attend to support a friend who was competing, so I drove him there and dropped him off with the teacher from his school. I was in the building for barely five minutes. During that brief window, Ani saw me, recognized me, and came over to speak to me. That was the beginning of our reacquaintance, our romance, and eventual marriage. Thirteen years! Five minutes! That was a miracle to me.
How do we find our spouse, our closest friends, our spiritual community, our life’s purpose? How do we find God? How did you find this path? How did you find the people and books that have changed your life?
Did you know where to find them before they showed up? What is behind the amazing sequence of apparently “random” circumstances, all of which have to happen at just the right time and in just the right order for these connections to take place? The logistical mathematical probabilities to make it “just happen” to occur in just that way are staggering!
There is an invisible, but intentional, movement going on behind the scenes of our life all the time, and it is done so well and so skillfully that we seldom even notice it. Yes, even in the bad things, the unpleasant and painful ones, something – insight, wisdom, compassion, strength, new and profound life-changing connections – comes out of those that we could (or would) never anticipate or design on our own. Something as simple as getting a puppy, meeting someone through a mutual friend, showing up at a particular event, or just walking down this street instead of that one, can create an unexpected connection and intimacy that forever alters the course of our lives for the better.
Who knows what lies in store for us today? Whose path will we cross? What new friend is wending his way toward us, unbeknownst to either of us? What new discovery will awaken us to new understanding? What opportunity is just around the next corner? Is that, in itself, not miraculous, and completely worthy of our awe?
This much I am sure of: if I am the new connection that Spirit is planning on bringing into someone else’s life, I want to be worthy of that. I want to be a blessing, something that the person I’m affecting is thankful for, and not something they will regret having encountered in life.
Oh, and by the way, finding you is something for which I am deeply grateful.
in loving,
Written by Rev Steven McAffee
With questions and for counselling contact Rev Steven at onebyonecommuity@gmail.com
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