Everyday miracles

I love stories about miracles. Someone inexplicably recovers, even though the prognosis was anything but good. Or a stranger appears out of nowhere as a savior in a dangerous situation and then suddenly disappears again. These are amazing events that fill us with wonder.

But I believe that sometimes we just need to open our eyes a little or prick up our ears and we will experience small miracles—miracles of everyday life.

I recently offered a book for free on an internet platform. It was a theological book that I had brought with me from my parents’ house, which had been cleared out. Somehow, it seemed too good to just throw away. But I couldn’t really use it myself either. So, I offered it for free. Nothing happened for a long time. No one seemed interested in the book. And then a lady wrote to me and later explained her story about this book:

“…I searched and prayed for it for so long. And then this very book turns up in Germany … It is extremely valuable to me and I will cherish it. I promise.” So, I was able to be part of an answered prayer without even knowing that someone was looking for this very book.

Shortly after this event, it was time to send out the March reminder email for this blog. All attentive readers may have noticed that we (my husband and I) usually do this on the first of the month. Only the email for March was sent out on the 4th of the month. I was annoyed about this. Because: We had only returned from vacation a few days earlier and had therefore completed the blog and everything that goes with it before the vacation as a precaution. And now we simply forgot to send the reminder on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. That can be quite annoying for a conscientious person. But shortly afterwards, I received a message from a reader thanking me for this blog post, which was about “catastrophizing.” The reader had been the victim of a terrible, catastrophic dream on the night of March 4, which kept her awake for the rest of the night. I suspect that the terrible images of the dream kept replaying in her mind during this sleepless time. In the morning, the reminder email for the blog was in her inbox, and the blog text encouraged her. Did God make me forget to send the email because He knew that this lady would need encouragement after the night she had had?

Everyday miracles—it’s worth paying attention to them because they enrich our lives and give us insight into God’s precise, loving work.