Yesterday evening, when we came home there was a curious package at our
door. Like all packages it had addresses and a postmark. We read
‘where’ it was sent from, but it took a moment for us determine ‘who’
had sent it. It was unexpected. We remembered a brief Facebook message
from a day or two ago: “What’s your mailing address?” We replied and thought nothing more of it. But now, we knew its significance. Now we knew the ‘who’.
The children went to bed. I smudged our home and chanted a prayer of
thanksgiving, compassion, and praise. Afterward, Madalyn and I sat on
our living room carpet, adoring California (our new family member). As
we embraced, we discussed our travels; from pre-school to present day.
We reflected on our blessings and the ‘would you have ever thought...’
thoughts. We then opened the package to reveal three brightly colored
skateboards, complete with stickers and “stunner” shades. I was moved to
tears, and Madalyn was speechless. “What have we done to deserve this?”
I blurted. It was similar to what was felt when just a few days earlier
our Secret Santa’s mother called to inform us that she would be making
an unsolicited and substantial contribution to our daughters’ college
funds. Coincidence? I think not. Miraculous is more like it. We went to
bed with gratitude in our hearts and happiness on our minds.
The following morning, before presenting our daughters with their gifts,
we gathered as a family on our bedroom floor. We discussed ‘miracles’;
how life is teeming with them, every moment of every day, but that you
must choose to have eyes & ears for them.
In my
experience, miracles are an act of instruction. They are like anything
else that grows. And, ‘everything’ grows. Miracles have a point of
origin or seed. By who or what they are planted, your guess is as good
as mine. They grow alongside you, oftentimes in obscurity, where
occasionally you may be reminded of their presence. The purpose of their
growth is to aid you in your own. For better or for worse—depending on a
person’s attitude toward life— they will eventually have to be
acknowledged. For some, they are hindrances or bothersome, like traffic.
For others, they are an opportunity to both reflect on life’s blessings
and to center oneself. Every incident is a stepping stone towards what
follows. Where traffic may have momentarily disturbed your expectations
it may have also saved your life, been the cause of a chance encounter
that would not have occurred had you arrived a moment too soon, or it
may have serviced the needs of something or someone else without your
knowing.
It is in a miracle’s very nature to guide you,
regardless of your receptiveness to its instruction or awareness of its
presence. A miracle calls you to reconcile your inconsistencies, to view
yourself in a more honest light, to take inventory of your priorities,
to quiet and open your mind, to acknowledge that something greater than
yourself is at the helm, to trust in and to embrace the destiny that
awaits you. Either in its whispers or screams, a miracle will inevitably
force your attention, and the lesson will continually repeat until it
has been mastered. One miracle may very well transition to the next. Any
attempt to resist or hinder their growth is futile, and can create
unnecessary tension and conflict both within a person and without.
As we sat in a circle on the carpet we challenged our daughters and
ourselves to recall a miracle or two. They identified two: “Our Pug,
Cali!” and “Meeting my cousin Alyssa, who would turn out to be one of my
best friends.” These are two beautiful examples of the growth and
obscurity of the miracles of which I speak.
Cali was adopted by
my mother and stepfather some time ago. She has now survived her
nineteenth month. We have adopted her because she is too difficult for
them to care for. We are her third family (and last). She is mellow, but
playful. Cali fits in perfectly with our motley lot. And, while we love
her dearly, we would have never guessed that we’d end up having a dog.
The miracle is that we feel that this union has been years in the
making. From our current vantage point, our inevitable adoption of Cali
began when she was taken in by my parents. Since then, we have grown
parallel to one-another. Her little head and idiosyncrasies have popped
in-and-out of our lives over the past two years, as we’ve visited my
parents, establishing a familiarity between us that would one day turn
in to the opportunity that it has. We cannot afford a dog. However, our
arrangement is such that while her papers are still under my parents’
names— and they’ve agreed to assist with all expenses—Cali’s home is now
with us. I too lived with a Pug when I was younger. Coincidence? I
think not. Life has its way of working things out.
While our
daughter’s ‘meeting a cousin’ may sound simple enough, to grasp the
gravity of the statement one must understand the enormity of what had to
happen in order for our daughter to develop this meaningful
relationship. On September 30, 2011 (almost two years ago), we were
reunited with my biological family. In October 2004 I enlisted for the
U.S. Army. In less than a month I was discharged due to a pre-existing
medical condition (i.e Keratoconus), that I had no knowledge of before
then. In August 2005 my adoptive mother posted on Genealogy.com,
searching for my biological mother: “...so I can find out if this
disease comes from her side of the family or from my son’s biological
father’s side” is what she wrote. She did not tell me about this post.
While the post would remain unanswered on the internet for just over six
years, my youngest sister would eventually stumble upon it, setting in
to motion the events that would reunite a brother with his five
biological brothers & sisters, their families, mother and
stepfather. Thus poignantly reminding us of God’s presence (as we like
to call it), the importance of patience, the power of intent, and that
there is always a bigger picture. Things could have turned out
differently, but they didn’t, and as a result of the love and
open-mindedness of all parties, our daughters now have an additional
eleven cousins to call home.
It is easy to become so engrossed
in the perfunctoriness of our daily lives, that we become resigned to
the idea that anything magical, miraculous, or mystical is reserved
solely for those few who are more fortunate than ourselves, or to be
experienced only in the imagination, literature, or on the silver
screen. I am here to shed light on this misconception and to reassure
you that miracles exist; not as “coincidence” and despite any highbrow
skepticism.
After our family discussion, we held hands (as
Cali sat in the middle of our circle) and prayed together; each of us
sharing our intention and giving thanks for the miracle of
life—yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Upon concluding our prayer circle,
the girls made a dash for the living room and squealed ecstatically at
the miracle before them. Thank you for inspiring that moment, Joe. We love you!
Whether in the presence of an unremarkable box filled with skateboards,
right before your eyes, or developing unnoticed and beneath your very
nose, you can bet that where there is growth there are miracles. And,
‘everything’ grows. Try to remember the following: The eyes will not see
what the heart knows until the mind is made open to what love sows.
Be Well, Loved Ones...
Albert
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