I believe in
miracles, unexplained blessings, or whatever you want to call them. I have seen
many cases of occurrences that can't be explained through natural means. Here are some examples:
- Being in the right place at the right time
- Narrowly avoiding serious accidents—by seconds
- Having someone lead me away from a harmful situation
- Finding solutions for a medical condition that probably could have eventually killed me
Touched by
an Angel
This is an
uplifting Christian TV drama series from the ‘90’s. It features John Dye, Roma
Downey, and Della Reese. The show is a touching
sequence of stories about how the three stars, who are actually angels, interact
undercover with near-hopeless humans in order to effect miraculous changes in
their lives.
One episode
is called “Fear Not”. It spotlights two brothers. The younger one is mentally
challenged. The brothers lost their parents, and the older brother told the
younger one about their deaths during the night. From then on, the younger
sibling has associated darkness with death, so he cannot stand to be outside
after nightfall.
By the end
of the episode, the frightened young man has regained his courage to the point
that he walks a few blocks in the dark by himself. Along the road to bravery,
he is helped by affirmations such as these:
“When life keeps you in the dark, baby, that’s when you look to the
stars.”—Della Reese, as “Tess”
************
“You’ve already been to
the darkest place you can imagine. Now, it’s time to look for the stars.”—Roma Downey,
as “Monica”
Curiously,
the strong young man is only able to walk through the darkness when he lifts
his head up to see the literal
heavenly light/star guiding him. Symbolic? You bet! He must stop focusing on
the murkiness of his “reality” and look to a higher power—just as we all must
do.
Why Should we Hope Against the Odds?
“Really? Have
faith? I want guarantees!” some may say. “I don’t want to get hurt. What if
nothing changes? How can I afford to believe? I’m a realist!” Well, sorry,
there are no assurances in life. That’s a
fact that any practical person knows.
The good
news is that there are many documented cases of people who see small,
incremental improvements. These people don’t give up hope, and they never say “Never.”
Conversely, those who don’t believe in a better life see no transformations, do they?
So, what have you got to lose? Aren’t minor improvements
preferable to a complete refusal to accept that life may get better? Isn’t a
little hope/change better than floundering in darkness?
The Pursuit
of Happyness (Yes, it’s
spelled correctly. Look it up.)
This is a
2006 tear-jerker movie starring Will Smith and his son, Jaden. It is based on
the true-life memoir of Chris Gardner, who went from being homeless to owning a
multi-million dollar brokerage firm. He succeeded through sheer determination,
faith, and more than a few “lucky breaks”. The movie is full of aphorisms such
as this:
“Don’t ever let someone tell you
that you can’t do something. You got a dream, you gotta protect it. When people
can’t do something themselves, they are going to tell you that you can’t do it.
You want something, go get it. Period.”
What do such
sayings tell us? Faith isn’t passive.
Clearissa Coward
She is an
unbelievably strong lady I met on Google+. Her grit
(raw determintation) is unbounded. She blogs about organizing our lives and homes.
She also writes about turning run-down furniture and accessories into items fit
for a luxury home. Clearissa’s organizational talents really shine in her
recently chosen career of being a virtual assistant. (This is kind of like an
administrative assistant in cyberspace.)
As you can
tell, this lady has a lot going on. I didn’t realize quite how much she had on
her plate until I read one of her most recent articles, “I Believe in
Miracles…do You?”, on her all-inclusive website. In it, this woman who
never gives up describes her rocky journey in dealing with her daughter’s diagnosis
of multiple sclerosis. “Touching” doesn’t quite come close to describing it.
My Conclusion
Unexplained,
unexpected blessings happen all the time. We just don’t always recognize their
significance immediately. Me, Clearissa Coward, the makers of Touched by an Angel, and the producers
of The Pursuit of Happyness all
believe in some sort of miracle…Do you?
Please see
more about hope against all odds in my book, Accept No Trash Talk: Overcoming the
Odds.
How have you
been touched by an angel?
