Be the Miracle by Maureen Locher

The cure isn't the miracle; it's all the people praying for it – all the people making it happen.

We think we don't witness miracles in our world because we don't see a hillside Jesus sharing loaves and fishes. I have yet to attend a wedding where the water turns into wine. And how many more people are diagnosed every day than cured?

As economic woes pound our nation and far off enemies kill each other, it's easy to become jaded and question God's power to transform. We want peace now, filled bellies, and cancer eradicated. But that's not God's modus operandi. Of course He could perform all such miracles. So why doesn't He?

So we can.

Two months ago I was working on a book pitch. My confidants knew D-Day was coming. Grateful for their prayers and encouragement I was sure to call them afterward to tell them the encouraging news that I was one step closer. It was a happy day.

Later the same afternoon I got a call from someone I had forgotten to call, "How'd your deal go? You know, I said a little prayer to God for you today at 11:00 and I don't do that very often."

THAT'S the miracle. I know he doesn’t pray often. His concern for me brought him closer to God if only for the few moments it took to utter his heartfelt petition. He talked to God on my behalf in the same way God's multitude does every day in the name of a sister, a friend, a spouse, a stranger.

That's why I went to sleep that night with a smile on my lips. That's why I'm misty-eyed remembering his words. The miracles aren’t far away barn walls weeping or cinnamon buns that favor Blessed Mother Teresa’s likeness. The miracles occur when volunteers stock the food pantry shelves, when relief supplies pour into Indonesia, when we call up a lonely neighbor simply to ask how she is. Whenever we give of ourselves for another it's a miracle.

As God keeps track on His heavenly Jumbotron, I wonder how many miracles will get chalked up today…in your world, your neighborhood, your workplace, your home.