Miracles

A true story. I wrote this article a couple of years ago for Ezinearticles.com. It has been one of my most successful ones. I am not a particularly religious man, but I know there is a Spirit of the Universe of which you and I are a part. This true story tells of how messages and solutions can be brought to us, usually in the most unsuspected ways. I hope you enjoy it.

"Dare Something Worthy".

Miracles - Final Segment of the Miracles 101 Series

We pray for miracles only when something terrible has happened; someone is sick or hurt or that true love has found another. We hurt so deeply and we beg for help but nothing happens. Is nothing listening or is all the blabbing from the pulpit true, that we are undeserving of divine attention?

You've got it all backward.

Many times, we just don't give divine credit where divine credit is due. Such times are labeled coincidence or luck. They rarely announce themselves with a cup-rattling boom and blinding flash of light, however.

The following true story recounts how we never know what miracles we dispense in our day to day lives. It reminds me to be thankful for the events of the day even if I don't see them all as positive. I never know when..well, I'll let the story tell it.

The street missions of Los Angeles help anyone who walks, stumbles or crawls through their doors. All except one man. He was know as O'Sullivan. He was so mean that he was banned from all street missions. One day, a man named Bob from a 12 step program responded to a phone call from O'Sullivan whom he eventually tracked down to a filthy little room in the basement of an old hotel. The man was drunk.

The shivering, skeletal wretch lay on an old mattress soaked with urine. He had soiled himself but he could still talk. By coincidence, Bob had once been in this man's shoes. He dragged a wooden box as close to the bed as his tear ducts would allow and told his story.

He made sure that O'Sullivan knew that he himself had been where the poor wretch was at that moment. He spoke of his personal miracles of recovery and well being. He told it all.

Bob's talk lasted longer than O'Sullivans attention span. The man snored loudly as Bob pulled an old blanket over the skeletal drunk. Maybe the man had learned something, Bob thought as he walked away. One could never tell. Some years later, Bob was a speaker at a convention. In his talk, he mentioned his episode with O'Sullivan and how his action had yielded nothing. He told his listeners that they should not get discouraged. You never knew what part luck was to play in any circumstance.

After the talk, Bob was approached by a well groomed young man. His teeth were clean and his eyes sparkled. He was rosy cheeked and well dressed. The young man extended his hand and shook Bob's hand vigorously.

His sparkling smile widened as he said, "I want to thank you, Sir."

Bob was in the dark on this one. "Why would you be thanking me?"

The young man's smile broadened. "By sheer coincidence, I happened to walk by the door to this conference room as you talked about your visit to O'Sullivan and how you viewed it as a failure.

Mystified, Bob nodded and waited.

The young man was having difficulty controlling his voice. "You see, that night, I was coming down off the worse debacle I had ever been on. I was frozen in fear, withdrawal and the DT's. Several miracles brought us together that night. You did not fail. I heard every word you said. I did what you said worked for you and I haven't used or drank since. That's why I wanted to thank you."

Bob wasn't sure how to handle this. O'Sullivan had been an old man even back then and someone had killed him some weeks later near a dumpster and Bob told the young man so.

"I was hiding under the bed."

Sometimes, like in this story, the Universe acts quickly. Often we hear of incredible feats of strength at accident scenes. Little old ladies lifting heavy cars off loved ones for example. In those instances, urgent action is required, a prayer is sent out and the answer is obvious and immediate (and always yes).

Confucius once said, "Any fool can count how many seeds are in an apple, but, who can say how many apples are in one seed?" And that is what happens in our lives. We affect others as others affect us and the beat goes on. It is our choice whether we call happenstance luck or the answer to a prayer or the answer or manifestation of someone else's.

There is no way for us to know what we are creating moment by moment. Therefore, I try not to figure out "who might be hiding under the bed" when I pick up a piece of garbage in the park or smile at someone for no reason.

Enjoy Your Day!

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