Miracles

Have you thought about the miracles in your life? I’ve recently been thinking about the miracles in my life. If you’ve been reading this blog for some time, you will know that I see myself as a child of God. I’ve said so before. That being said, I also believe in miracles. Big and small.

When we think of miracles, most of the time we think of those really big ones. You know, the kind where someone is saved from being killed in an auto accident. Or, a dam breaks but there is no loss of life. Or, a cure is discovered for some heinous disease. How about the little ones? Those that may happen every day ? Do we give thanks for the little miracles, as well as the big ones?

This back thing that I’ve been experiencing is keeping me from reaching up. Up to the second shelf in my kitchen cupboard. Up to get the flat baking dishes from the cupboard that is above my head in my kitchen. And, up to the rack that is over my clothes dryer in the basement where I store the clothes hangers onto which I place my clothes from the dryer. And, no, I don’t iron my clothes. I wear them as them come out of the dryer.

Picture, this – the dryer bell has rung, and I go down the stairs, one at a time, left first down first (that’s direction from my back surgeon) and into the workroom with the dryer buzzer still complaining. I know that there are tee-shirts in the dryer to be hung. I don’t know how many. From the rack above the dryer that I am currently having a difficult time reaching, I grab a bunch of shirt hangers. I prefer the nicely-curved, plastic kind so that I don’t have “pooches” on my shoulders.

As I begin placing the tee-shirts on hangers, I begin to wonder if I’ve taken down enough for the entire lot. I really – REALLY – don’t want to have need to reach up to that rack, again. The reaching hurts my back! When I get to the last two shirts, I realize that, indeed, I’ve taken down (without counting) the exact number of hangers for all of the shirts. Small miracle? I think so and give thanks for that help.

I’m cooking a pasta on my kitchen range (not in my microwave, for a change). Now, we all know that, if not carefully watched, we’ll be cleaning up a mess on our stove top. The pot will boil over. I’m old. I get distracted. Just as the pasta reaches that boil-over-onto-the stove point, my attention is directed back to the pan; I keep the pasta water in the pot. Small miracle? I think so.

I’m waiting at a traffic light for the green signal – waiting and waiting and waiting. The on-coming traffic is also waiting, gets a green, left turn light, and several cars make their left turn in front of me. My lane of traffic gets the green light to go and, just then, my car engine dies – STOPS WORKIING. I’m left sitting, restarting my car. And, as I look up, the driver of one last car across from me has decided to proceed with a left turn. If my car and I had proceeded as expected, we would have been in an accident! Small miracle? I think so.

Years ago, Larry and I visited the Mount Vernon so far east of us. Walking from the parking lot to the house, I saw things in the huge, very old trees that were like nothing I’d ever seen before. The explanation is that those little, wiry things sticking up from the branches of those old trees are lightning rods. Because the trees had great history, along with the mansion, the rods were meant to protect them from severe lightning storms. When I arrived back at my home and, because I have a HUGE ancient cottonwood tree in my back yard (not more than twelve feet from my house), I decided to have lightning rods installed on its branches. It, literally, it the tallest things in blocks. East, west, north, south. The tallest!

The rods that were installed in my cottonwood’s branches are only twelve inches tall. A cable runs from all of them, down the tree, spreading out to the east and west of the tree under the ground. My house is north of the tree on the property. The cable installation must have been thirty- or forty-years, ago. We’ve had lightning / thunder storms of great severity during these years. So far, my tree and my house have survived, unharmed. So, learning what I did at Mount Vernon – small miracle? I think so.

I was working at my desk; my cell phone rang. Larry’s voice told me that I had to go out to the street because something had happened. He did NOT sound happy. A vehicle (that turned out to be stolen and abandoned by a neighbor’s house across our sloping street) had somehow become loose and rolled backward into my vehicle that was parked in front of my house – a Suburban, at that time. Damage to left rear of the car was the bumper and the area surrounding the wheel.

Because my car was parked where it was is what kept the runaway from traveling farther. Without the presence of my car, the runaway would have continued on up over our “Hollywood” sidewalk that has no real curb and headed for my neighbor’s yard, where the mom and two of her boys were playing in the front yard. So, as I see it, the presence of my Suburban kept that family safe. A small miracle (or, maybe this time, a big one)? I think so.

Larry and I had a second and more powerful electrical connection put on our house. I’ve often said that I could run a small factory with the electricity I have coming into my house. A couple of years after its installation, the connection leading from the pole to the house came loose at the house. To have it fixed would have been expensive, and I live on a tight budget.

My electric company was installing new poles for the electricity in my area (yes, our electrical service is still in the air). I have a utility easement all of the way around my property – all four sides. I do, however, keep the access gates to that easement locked. I really don’t want strangers in my back yard without my knowledge. When the crew came to install two poles in my yard, I, of course, opened the gates to give them access.

The crew boss and I talked for a few minutes (I always talk with people), and I pointed out that the line from the new pole they are installing to my house was loose at my house connection; it was just hanging there. And, that I had not had time to get it fixed.

“Not a problem,” the crew boss told me. “We’ll fix it.” And, they did. Small miracle? Well, for me it was a really BIG miracle.

There are so many more small miracles that I could talk about. Like the parking places that is always where I plan for it, as I’m leaving home. But, if I tried to mention all of them, it would take pages and pages. You get the idea. Miracles, large and small happen, every day. My reason for talking about them is this – never forget to give thanks. Doesn’t have to be much – just a quiet, “Thank you, God,” at the time the miracle happens. Or, maybe, you thank someone else. Just remember to give thanks – please.
Be Safe and Be Well
The Cranky Crone
Thoughtful comments are always welcome.