If you do not believe in miracles… take a look around.

Don’t believe in miracles? Take a look around

The most defining moments in life are often the most painful…

I cried the day after I found out my husband didn’t want to be married anymore. I was catatonic the day after I was told that I was being laid off. A wave of sadness washed over me the day after the doctor told me that my vision loss was probably permanent. 

My reaction to difficult situations is almost always delayed by a day. I’m a thinker. I have to process information one bit at a time. I need time to sit with the truth before reality settles into my bones. 

I never question why something is happening to me. I am pretty good at accepting what is, but that usually doesn’t make me feel any better… I am human after all.  Sometimes the circumstances are less than ideal. And I have thought about giving up on more than one occasion, but I never do.  

My strength is not a byproduct of my character. My resilience is not an aspect of my personality. I am not exceptional. I was not born daring or audacious. I am not immune to fear.

I sometimes let my imagination run wild, but every time I think about the worse case scenario optimism clubs me over the head. My glass is perpetually half full, not because the other half is not empty, but because  I know better. 

Whenever I get knocked down I look to see what or who is down there with me. The birds-eye view may be breathtaking, but there is much to learn from the perspective of an ant. From the ground I can see my options in greater detail. From the bottom I can see that there is more than one way to get to the top. It might take longer to arrive by foot, but there is much more to learn and experience when you take the long way around.

When life gets hard I know that I am not being punished. Rather I am being rewarded with an opportunity to gain knowledge and insight, to sharpen my skills, and to witness my own strength.

I believe in miracles because I have recovered from heartbreak, an empty bank account, a soiled reputation, and I survived childbirth twice (my own + my daughter’s). I believe in miracles because I know that caterpillars still transform into butterflies. And because I know that weeds are plants that are strong enough to move concrete and buckle asphalt. I believe in miracles because almost everything in the Universe is seemingly improbable… yet it all exists. 

If you do not believe in miracles… take a look around.

 

There is evidence everywhere. (tweet this)