Hoping For A Miracle
Barbara, Can you write about “miracles” and how the hope/prayer for a miracle can make people miss what is in front of them?
An internet search defines a miracle as: “a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.” I, Barbara, define “a miracle” as “an event attributed to a supernatural being (God or gods), a miracle worker, a saint, or a religious leader.” It is an event that seems to defy all logic.
With that definition, you have to be a pretty high stakes gambler to bet your life (literally) on the idea that a miracle is going to cure your life threatening illness.
People tend to miss what is in front of them, which is the present moment. How many of us live in past memories or future ideals? Most of us don’t live in the immediate moment — and it is that moment that sets the stage for what follows — for the future.
What many, maybe even most, people do is trade that moment for a gamble on the future. We do this gambling with a lot of life occurrences, but we place our biggest bets on life threatening illness decisions.
We gamble that being very sick with side effects, and spending inordinate amounts of Money on treatments and procedures will result in a cure, in a life that is active and healthy — in a miracle. I use the word “miracle” because if the right questions are asked and the physician is being honest, oftentimes the answers will point to this: it would take a miracle to return you to a healthy life. Most of us don’t want to hear that kind of answer, so we don’t ask.
I remember someone telling me that prayer requires action, that God works through us. There is an old story about a man praying to God to save him from the rising waters of a river. A boat comes by and the driver says to the man, “Get aboard.” The man replies, “God will save me.” A rescue helicopter throws down a rope and the pilot says, “Climb the rope”. The man says, “God will save me.” Well, the man drowned. When he met God, the man was disillusioned and asked God why he didn’t save him. God replied, “I tried. I sent you a boat and a helicopter.” The story makes an important point: help comes in the ways of this earth. It is life working in us and our actions that creates miracles.
I think prayer and positive thinking is a very valuable tool in healing, in all of living actually, but it isn’t enough. To deal with our challenges we must use the tools of the physical world we live in: rational thinking, research, truth, and knowledge of our disease.
Something More… about Hoping For A Miracle
When we avoid asking questions, usually because we’re scared. At these times we must remember Knowledge Reduces Fear. Get New Rules for End of Life Care and reduce your fear so that you can live fully during your final act of living!
Originally Published on https://bkbooks.com/blogs/something-to-think-about
