The Miracles and the Mess

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Cafe

Last week I heard the phrase “practicing the miracle of life.”  My response has been to more often start my day sitting outside.  Nature offers us so many reminders of miracles.  I listen to the birds, their calls so distinctive as they communicate with one another.  They are masters of “call and response.”  I watch the clouds as they shift and form themselves in new configurations.  Yes, this is simply the nature of  birds and clouds.  But Albert Einstein, who knew something of how the world operates (understatement!), is quoted as saying: “There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” 

I tend to subscribe to the latter.  But in the interest of full disclosure, miracles  can involve  a lot of mess.  Much in medical care is a miracle but dealing with the human body and all its intricacies can be quite untidy, in plain English, a bloody mess.  On another plane, think of the miracle of all the coordination and dedication of aid groups who manage all the details of collecting and distributing goods for the survival of people.  Yet they often operate in extreme conditions of war, destruction, deprivation. 

Closer to home, I think of a man I met years ago when we were part of a group advocating for a bill before the legislature that would have extended healthcare to an additional 280,000 in our state.  His wife had severe health problems and he had some himself.  In the years since, he has developed a condition that is taking his life in the most horrendous way.  He never denies the difficulty of it, nor his challenges to cope.  Yet he always manages to convey some sense of gratitude, the miracle of another day.    Miraculous, I say, living in awareness of gratitude  as he deals with the condition he endures.

To all those in the throes of huge difficulties and to those who are simply living with the usual amount of disturbances life tends to throw in our path just in the everyday-ness of living, I offer these gems:

“Miracles happen every day; you just have to look for them, they are there.” – Catherine Pulsifer 

“Each of my days are miracles. I won’t waste my day; I won’t throw away miracle.” – Kelley Vicstrom

“A miracle is often the willingness to see the common in an uncommon way.” Noah Benshea

The invitation is open to share two cups of tea anytime at Hope’s Café or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” at Hope’s Café, for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate