Noticing the Miraculous
It is far too easy to become accustomed to the miraculous. And when we become accustomed to it, we forget that God is behind it.
Do you wonder at how your body works? Yes, I know it may be easier to focus on what doesn’t work, especially as we get older. But the real wonder is that the vast majority of the time, the vast majority of our bodies work flawlessly. We begin as two cells become one, we grow, we learn, we heal injuries, fight off diseases, consume everything from wheat to apples to cows and get the raw materials our bodies need. With all our technology, we haven’t come close to this capacity for learning, growing and self-healing.
In the Gospel lesson for Sunday (Mark 4:26-34; click here to read it) Jesus points to the example of the world around us. A farmer plants a seed, goes to bed, gets up and, behold, it is growing and eventually produces the full head of grain and the farmer knows not how. He can only rejoice and gather the harvest.
Whether we are watching a cut heal on the skin or a seed turn into a full head of wheat, we wonder at what God has designed. To be sure, we have learned a lot more about the processes involved and we can now describe cell division, DNA, chemical processes, etc., but none of that enables us to produce the process! We can only observe it and sometimes help it along a little, but we cannot create it.
I remind myself of this truth regularly. Take the time to wonder at God’s creation! When we lose the wonder at the miraculous, not only does life become mundane, but we forget our need for God and His closeness to us! Where do you see the wonder of God’s design today?
This column appeared in the June 13, 2021 edition of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.
If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current eNews.
