We may have been told to “expect” a miracle. I believe, on the contrary, we encounter them.

Many who call on the Name of Jesus and attempt to reconcile and integrate the Bible into their lives find it hard to understand how their lives could be so remarkably devoid of the supernatural.

In sixteen years of ministry and many more years since (as a "normal" person), I have to say that the occurrence of supernatural events is rare - very rare. Well, I should say, "supernatural" in the sense of UFOs, parting seas, paralytics walking and rocking their town. Alien abductions, mind reading and clairvoyance did not show up.

Not to say that I didn’t meet people who claimed to read minds, part seas and participate in alien abductions. Not to say that I wasn't also in proximity to people who claimed medical miracles, healing and the healing power, but for the most part those were hard to substantiate. The well-known, one-leg-shorter-than-the-other act; the nondescript malaise now “lifted”. There was the infamous case of a friend who claimed to have seen gold-dust drop from the sky and miraculously turned his mercury fillings into gold. I had to stand on my toes to peer into his mouth stretched wide by his fingers and peer into the cavern of his mouth to see the fillings. As far as I could tell…no gold; lots of spit, but no gold.

Perhaps we lose sight of real supernatural and miraculous things because we are prone to look for the weeping Madonna toast and angel warriors standing on the platform while the Pastor brandishes the sword of the Lord.

Maybe we are in the dark of the miraculous universe when our faith is floodlighted by the expectations of “church” and mega-miraculous over-promising.

It is clear to me that miracles would not be miracles if they happened with the regularity of a TV schedule. In such a case we would have to call them “normals” because a miracle suggests the rarity of diamonds and the scarcity of whooping cranes. Without reading too much into it, we must accept that the Gospels are condensed accounts of the life and times of Jesus. It is reasonable to assume that the Gospel writers chose to emphasize the miracles of Christ and exclude the normal days of Jesus. I suppose it is reasonable to assume that some churches, ministries and denominations are also tempted to put forward the miraculous events of their history as opposed to the normal drudgery of budgets, staff meetings, personal conflicts and sinfulness. Likewise, an individual may present a miracle in their life with such regularity that it may appear that they have a corner on the miraculous market. To make “normal” the reality of the rare and remarkable interventions of God on behalf of his children suggests a God we can boss around with our expectations and whininess in order to land a zinger of a story for next week's bible study or Sunday's “sharing” circle.

A careful examination of our lives (a good idea at any time) might show us that over the long term, miracles, rare and scarce have intersected our lives in ways not smacking of the circus or the snake oil salesman, but rather surfacing on the street level of our lives.

I have seen this to be true in my life and the lives of others.  Here are some examples:

The young man sad and homesick while away from his family and friends working the summer in Banff feels he should go into a church and sees a banner saying “Welcome Home”. Home he discovered would always be where God’s Presence could be found.

The weary Christian unsure of the God’s activity in his life encounters a stranger on a train who imparts life and hope in a 5-hour conversation of spirituality.

The husband bent on destroying his marriage and his family through abandonment hears Boyz II Men singing "Waters Run Dry" and he turns around before he makes the "biggest mistake of his life".  (Yes...I know...Boyz II Men... Really?)

A sin-riddled life turns around and faces his unhappiness and destructiveness with courage drawn from the wells of salvation.

The greenhouse worker enjoying his morning break in the quiet sun-filled space behind the glass walls encounters God softly, calling him to Himself and surrenders the battle that had raged in the darkness of his own soul.

The social worker who discovers Jesus has come with him to work and filled his heart with the empathy of a broken-hearted father.

The fieldworker who cannot hope to make enough money to pay rent and cover his family's expenses discovers cash, cold hard cash in his pocket as he dresses in his work-clothes before the sun has even risen.

The woman who discovers a forgiving God and a compassionate listener when she discloses for the first time that things at home are hotter under the surface than many would have known.

Miracles happen more in the ordinary and fallen days of our lives. We may have been told to “expect” a miracle. I believe, on the contrary, we encounter them. During a day of begging, during a day of watching sheep, during a smoke break on your job, or in the manure and straw strewn stable, light, inexplicable light fills a soul, lights a bush, rests on a child, opens a heart. Each one a supernatural encounter. Each one a miracle. -dg