There are thousands of medical miracles that most of us take for granted every day. Scientific advances have produced many fascinating inventions that have been described as miraculous in centuries and millennia past. For example, think of antibiotics, corrective lenses for our vision, antiviral medications, hearing aids, surgical technologies, MRI and sonograms, dental care, organ transplantation, blood transfusion, vaccines, and so much more. When I slow down to think about these amazing human achievements and how we benefit from them, I cannot help but find myself captivated by a spirit of awe and wonder at what is truly miraculous.
Consider for example the miracle of birth.
That a mother not only
literally gives of herself in the months of pregnancy to sustain and grow a new
human person within her is indeed miraculous, but so is the ability to
breastfeed, to sacrifice one's time and energy at all hours of the day and
night, to put the interests and concerns of a child ahead of one's own, and to
do all the things required of parents and caregivers that seem impossible to do
and give. Let us make an effort, or should I say a duty, a responsibility,
to slow down, to see
the world anew, to look at what is before us and what we experience everyday as
a form of divine intervention, a form of grace, a form of the miraculous. There
is, I believe, a spiritual need that calls us to cultivate a better sense of
awe and wonder in the world. This is what recognizing everyday miracles means:
that God not only intervenes in rare occasions, but is present in a variety of
human experiences at all times.
Perhaps
the next time you feel ill or are injured and can be healed by medications or
procedures we too often take for granted today, you might reflect on the
miracle that is the natural and medical sciences, embrace a feeling of awe and
wonder, and give thanks to God. Perhaps
the next time you find yourself delayed in travel, you might reflect on the
miracle that is modern travel technologies, embrace a feeling of awe and
wonder, and give thanks to God. Perhaps
the next time you get frustrated or feel impatient at the behavior of your
fellow citizen in the grocery store line, you might reflect on our
interconnectedness and interdependence, embrace a feeling of awe and wonder,
and give thanks to God.
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