Slow Miracles

Miracles do not always happen at the snap of a finger.  Sometimes they do, but not always.   There were ten leper who had to walk a piece before they saw a miracle of healing taking place in their lives.  Naaman had to go to some dirty river and wash himself before he saw his miracle.  Another fellow had to go wash the mud out of his eyes.  And, then there was the thief on the cross who had to finish dying before the great miracle of his life happened.   It would seem that God is not in the hurry that we sometimes find ourselves.   

But, the greatest miracle recorded in Scripture and the greatest miracle which has ever touched the earth is the one which took the womb of a woman, two hearts bent on being obedient to holy leading, a God who was willing to risk everything on the likes of you and me, and nine months.  Matthew and Luke speak of this holy miracle in narrative form while the gospel writer John simply wrote, "And the Word became flesh and lived among us..."  (John 1:14)   When Jesus came forth that night in Bethlehem the greatest miracle of every miracle took place.     

When God acts it is not always on our time schedule.  It would seem that we would learn this early in our faith journey, but far into it we are still telling God how He needs to be in a hurry.  Those who see and know the miracles of God must not only be faithful souls, but patient ones.  In the Celtic spirituality tradition an often used word is the word "unfolding."  It is a word which creates an image of how we can expect God to work among us and make Himself known in our midst.  What God is about to do is always unfolding before us, but it often takes eyes that see what cannot be seen to comprehend Who and what is out there right in front of us.