Walking in a miracle: a paradox

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When I woke up this morning, with my eyes shut, I stared at a blank canvas in my head. I had nothing to write about for my column this week. I prayed for an idea and heard My Sweet Al say, “My foot has broken loose from my ankle bone.”

I threw off my nose suction cup connected to my CPAP machine and sat straight up in bed. My Lord, all I could see was Al’s foot dangling from his anklebone. I said, “Heaven forbid, is this how this day is going to begin? A dangling foot? It’s always something. If this is what I prayed for, it’s going to be a stretch to write an article about it.”

Every day there is a new ailment and something else is turning loose: hair, teeth and now Al’s foot. People who want to live until they are a hundred, what are they thinking?”

That’s how the day began and, before the day ended, our well went out and we had no water. Our summer guests are expected tomorrow and will be with us for two weeks. We ordered a new pump online, made a trip to Durango to pick it up, and then a problem with the electricity surfaced — and still no water.

Our guests are on their way and my Sweet Al says he needs a haircut and the pain is like electricity shooting through his foot. I’d rather the electricity be shooting through the pump, if I got to choose. When our guests come and if there is no water, we will show them how to flush the commode with a gallon of water and a twist of the wrist.

No matter how you slice it, life is an uphill journey, and limping on a broken foot doesn’t help the journey at all.

I grabbed Jonathan Cahn’s book, “The Book of Mysteries.” He always has something to say to me.

He writes, “Don’t ever judge your life or what God is doing in your life by how it appears in the moment on the journey.”

Well, that’s a good thing. Everything is going downhill fast. So, how do we measure our lives?

He writes, “When we get to the top of the mountain and look back at the long incline we’ve made, we’ll see the magnitude of the miracle we have been walking in and what God has been doing in our life.”

Our good neighbor, D.M., our son-in-law and son rallied around us. We couldn’t make the journey alone. The miracle was the generous hearts of three men who took time to help us. We were in a dilemma and couldn’t help ourselves.

I remember the picture of Alistair Brownlee as he propped up his brother, Jonny, on the finish line. Alistair, after his selfless display in helping his brother Jonny cross the line in Mexico, said, “He’s not heavy, he’s my brother.”

It’s not the dangling foot, the poor eyesight or hearing that’s getting us to the finish line. It’s the good people along the way who have propped us up, supported us and got us back on our way. We have been walking out a miracle not even knowing it.

Miracles that are beyond us, whether big or little, they sustain us. The day started with an empty canvas, but ended with a beautiful picture of entertaining angels unaware.

We once were so independent, and our youthful strength got us down the road with whatever we needed. We were too proud to ask anyone for a helping hand. Today, our bodies are more fragile, our balance is off and we stumble easily. We thankfully accept an open hand.

Final brushstroke: We’ve all walked through some hard times and more will come as we make it up the winding roads to top of the hill. We are on the journey and we aren’t even aware we are walking in a miracle. After we crest the summit and look back and see what people have done for us, we will be surprised. Even with our not-so-strong bodies, as we lean on the shoulder of the stronger man and cross the finish line, we can finish strong. That’s the paradox, that’s the miracle.

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