Everyday miracles in 2017... the stuff of viral videos

It is not often in life that you get to experience a miracle like those described in the Gospel today: the mute speaking, the lame walking, the blind being able to see. These moments of complete transformation in our individual lives can be rare, and sometimes, if you aren’t paying attention, you miss them completely. These days, they are the stuff of viral videos - the videos that you can’t help but watch over and over again, particularly in turbulent or uncertain times, because they remind you that miracles do, in fact, happen. Like this one, or this one, or this one. In 2017, it is so easy to find and click on one of those “heart thread” moments to lift your spirits when life gets a bit overwhelming.

Several weeks ago, I got to witness one of these moments happen for my own son.

After almost five years, we discovered that his persistent trouble with communicating with us had a name - “hearing loss.” Looking at the chart of what he could and couldn’t hear was humbling. There were things that we take for granted that he had never heard - water dripping, birds chirping, leaves rustling, his parents whispering. I will never forget the moment the audiologist placed his brand-new bright blue hearing aids in his ears. His face lit up with the largest smile. And of course, like a stereotypical 2017 mom, I recorded it. Now every time I begin to forget, I watch the video again and remember that miracles still happen and they do not just happen to other people.

Interestingly enough, I stopped the video right before his joy was replaced by a look of fear. All of these new sounds had flooded him at once, and suddenly he was afraid. He wanted the foreign objects out of his ears immediately. How quickly doubt crept in, how quickly uncertainty swept over him… much like doubt and uncertainty crept in for the disciples when Jesus asked them to help Him feed the hungry crowd. They had just seen the mute speaking, the lame walking, the blind seeing… and yet, they could not comprehend how Jesus could feed a crowd that large with so little to offer. As they picked up the fragments and recognized how much was left over, I imagine they had that moment of amazement once again. They had that moment of joy, their faces lit up. And then, in the next chapter, they forget again.

Jesus, in His wisdom and patience, continued to remind them over and over, even after His death. And, the Church, in her wisdom, reminds all of us each year as we travel through Jesus’ birth, ministry, death, and Resurrection that miracles do happen, every day, to each one of us. Every time we start to forget, every time the uncertainty and doubt and fear creep in, we are reminded of Jesus’ love for us and His ability to surpass our wildest imaginations.

Author: Gretchen Crowder, Director of Campus Ministry