The Miracle is in the Mundane
A Smile for you from God!
Mundane: common; ordinary; banal; unimaginative.
Miracle: such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God.
Definitions courtesy Dictionary.com
We pray for miracles. We beg God to show us some grand gesture that we may know what His will is for us. We lament the fact that there are no modern day miracles, no “Parting of the Red Sea.”
If only we had those miraculous signs, we think to ourselves, the signs God gave freely in the Old Testament to Moses, Abraham and all the Biblical patriarchs, then we could have faith without doubt. We could boldly go spread God’s word, confident that these miracles would change the world.
There are two problems with this line of thinking… first, despite all the miracles that God worked throughout the Old Testament (parting of the Red Sea, Manna in the wilderness, Joshua and the walls of Jericho, etc.), the people of the O.T. rarely kept the buzz going for more than a few days following one of God’s great miracles.
Secondly, there are miracles around us every day, we just are too blind, too rushed, too everything! We miss them. I guess it is the old “Can’t see the forest for the trees” mentality.
Every time a baby enters this world, it is a miracle. When strangers randomly meet and become lifelong friends, it is a miracle. My husband would probably say that on the rare occasions that I cook dinner, that is a miracle!
The reality is that miracles are everywhere, we just need to open our spiritual eyes and see them.
Last spring, my husband and I were battling over where to send our soon-to-be-kindergartener to school. We visited several different schools. As we sat in the parking lot at our last visit, we prayed these words:
“God, if this is where you would like us to send our daughter to school, give us a sign. And God, we are stupid people, please make it an obvious sign!”
We went through the doors of the school and met the director of admissions. She pulled out her keychain… which was emblazoned with my hometown. We had mutual friends and life experiences from a place more than 200 miles away.
Some would call this a coincidence. Nope. It’s a miracle. It was God’s way of speaking to us in our own language.
Today, keep those spiritual eyes open. You just might witness your own miracle!
October 29th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I just was discussing this with my woman’s small group. We were studying Jesus’ baptism by John the baptist and what it must have been like to actually observe the clouds parting and hearing God declare his love for his son. To be able to actually witness something like this would definatly, make someone a believer and never second guess their faith (that is an awesome miracle). But I agree that we really need to open our eyes and appreciate the miracles God does place in our lives. The birth of my children was such an awesome experience and I never felt closer to God…that was such an amazing experience after wanting a baby, losing babies, and praying to God for a healthy baby he blessed me with my 2 Miracles.
May 26th, 2010 at 9:50 am
I just was discussing this with my woman’s small group