"A miracle is a wonder, a beam of supernatural power injected into history...
An opening in the wall that separates this world and another."
--Time, December 30, 1990
DON'T FORGET TO LOOK...
Our lives are filled with wonders, beginning with the miracle of birth. Children seem to begin life accepting this comfort. As they grow from infancy into childhood you can see their natural awareness and acceptance of the miracles around them. Each moment seems to be a discovery, a wonder, a joy.
Sadly, as people grow older, they become involved with the tasks of living--so much so that they lose sight of the miracles that are sent to them, as well as the Author of those miracles. Oftentimes they are discouraged during life's more challenging moments. Still, it is in these darkest of times that they should seek out and draw forth the wonders working within their own lives. Consequently, they may discover that they are able to reach beyond themselves and positively touch the lives of others as well.
In looking back at the many quiet wonders in my own life, I see that a great many of them were linked to a larger one--one that went virtually unrecognized by me at the time. The value of small actions and decisions is immense. for those are often but segments of a larger whole. How may times have you ignored an instinct? How many times have you thought, "Wonders never happen in my life, so why waste the effort and time to even try to see them?" How many times have you been blind to the smaller graces that can lead to larger ones?
Take a moment, right now, to think back on the quiet graces and works of wonder that have happened in your life. Think of recent ones; consider childhood memories. Perhaps it was something you shrugged off as coincidence or, because you couldn't explain it, you tucked it into the recesses of your memory. It could have been the time you lost a large amount of money in a public place and it was returned to you. Maybe a friend loaned you a book that only an hour earlier you had strongly wanted to read--and reading that book dramatically influenced your life for the better. Sometimes miracles are as mundane as stumbling across a coveted set of serving bowls and platters that match your now obsolete china pattern at a yard sale--the weekend before your big party. Think back on small events that developed into a chain of events, which led to the discovery of a new best friend, a positive role model, a marriage partner, or to the positive realization of your life's work.
You may reclaim your gift of wonder and the frugal luxuries philosophy will help to show you how. To begin, you need only develop an awareness of the quiet graces that surround you. They are waiting for you to notice them, dormant, as seeds are dormant, expecting to be planted and watered so that they may sprout and bear fruit. To neglect them may cause you to miss so many of the blessings in store for you in life. Wonders and graces are not ancient, far away occurrences, they are here, now today--just as they have always been.
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