Today at sundown begins day three of the eight day Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. In what has become a Hanukkah tradition, I hope (later this month) to post pictures taken at Hanukkah House, a museum in Binghamton, New York.
In the meantime, I wanted to let a fellow blogger, Judy Yaron, do the heavy work for me today as she asks: What is your miracle?
Do you believe in miracles? And, what is a miracle, anyway?
This is a Jewish viewpoint: all of life is one big miracle. For those who do not believe in the deity of the Biblical tradition, many still believe in a Spirit, or Nature, or some other supernatural force that we can not fully understand.
And if you do, you just might believe in miracles. Everything from what happens as a baby grows inside of us throughout our lives, to the germination of a seed and how it grows into an adult plant, to a beautiful sunrise or sunset, to the song of a bird or the smell of sauteing garlic or onions, is a miracle, in my opinion. These events are all explainable by science but science, after all, is just something that enables us to understand the workings of our world.
And the more I understand, the more I see the miracles in everyday life. Even today, as our nation navigates waters churned with terror and with hate, and we don't know what direction to turn in, there are still enough examples of the goodness of humanity.
I want to believe in that, anyway, as the United States enters new, even scarier waters.
The human race has known hours of uncertainty before. We need our faith in the goodness of humanity more than ever, and the everyday miracles around us.
So...is there a miracle in your life?
As long as we see the world as miraculous, miracles will continue to appear.
ReplyDeleteHi Alana,
ReplyDeleteI have no doubts, miracles are all around us. From the miracles of birth to the wonderful works friends bestow upon us. Miracles help make the world what it is today.
However, it's important to say that without people -- miracles aren't possible; are they? I give thanks to the beautiful people who help make miracles happen.
- Bonnie
I am a Catholic and I absolutely believe in miracles. In fact, I wake up every day expecting them! :) And, I see them everywhere I look. Human life, to me, is one of the greatest miracles of all so every face I look into shows me a miracle.
ReplyDeleteHi Alana, thank you for this thought provoking piece. I have difficulty with miracles - even as the Hannukah candles are lit each night. I believe in science, but then sometimes when I'm in nature I feel something that seems like spirit - not explainable by science I think. So maybe that is a miracle?
ReplyDeleteHi Alana, I believe miracles are all around us and they are not always obvious. But a recent miracle for me, I was in hospital for hip surgery and during recovery had a heart attack, no better place to be:-)
ReplyDeleteMiracles happen every day. We just need the eyes of faith to see them happen. Nice thoughts on miracles :)
ReplyDelete