I went to our prayer meeting last Friday, with a string of coincidences and detours I was contemplating on. Besides that, I was happy with the way things turned out regarding a paper I churned out to my bosses this week. It was a miracle that I finished it on time and an equal miracle that my bosses approved of it. I actually chided to my colleagues that I am a miracle worker for I do work that requires miracles. But ain’t that so?
What struck me during our prayer meeting was the sharing of a sister who met a fateful incident last September, on the exact day of my birthday. She was stabbed 14 times by a street smart kid who tried to extort money from her. She did not dwell on the ordeal but on how she found God in all that she went through because of that.
“God indeed is my savior.” She just said the very lines that has been a mantra to me these days. ” I am confident and unafraid…” I added the lines from Isaiah as I readily agreed to her. I may not have experienced her miraculous bout with near death but having something to worry about is like contemplating the worst or death at one’s door anyway.
One of the things that I can attest to His saving love this week is when He gave me the extra energy, extra dose of “luck”, of time, of wisdom and good sense to do another daunting task from work. More than that, He gave me joy and peace in my heart–no complaints, no negative perspectives entertained–just sheer enjoyment in the midst of challenges, difficulties and potential disasters! If that is not grace I do not know how to call it.
“With joy you will draw water from the fountain of salvation” This is the reason why God saves. So that we will know where to draw love, peace and joy from–the very waters we so desire and long for to fill our being and not just merely exist but LIVE. I realized that this world will always throw us our share of storms and sufferings. In many forms, they come to us — through an accident, a breakup, a betrayal, a rejection, an abuse, and death even. I see that all these storms we call, are merely losses in this world. A loss of wealth, recognition, friendship, job, reputation, and ultimately, of life. But I also see that they are all temporal. They are part of this world.
The most important things in my life can always be taken away from me in the blink of an eye, in many ways. My family. My friends. My relationships. My job. My ministry. My community. My mind. My limbs. Everything that I have. If I draw my being and meaning through them, I will be lost. I will not be at peace. I will always try to control things whenever I sense that I might lose any of them.
The truth is they are not really mine in the first place. With that, I should know that they are not what is truly constant, unchanging, ABSOLUTE, which is God’s love. Or simply, God Himself. The things here merely represent Him or His attributes and gifts at best. But they are still not Him. Him is one I cannot possibly lose in this world nor in the next.
What does it mean to be saved anyway? The first thing that came to my mind was to be saved from worry. “Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.” That is what we pray in each mass celebrated everyday. It is the knowledge that God is God and He is our father unlike any other. That He provides. He is merciful. He is rich. He is almighty. He is everything I need and He gives me all I need. And that cannot be experienced any more truer than when we are most in need of His saving help.
Yes, when we pray for miracles, miracles happen. It may not always be the miracle that we expected or wanted (Like, Lord, I hope that my boss’ mind doesn’t change like she changes her outfits everyday) but the miracle that happens when we are attuned to what He wanted and expected. Now that defines a real miracle.
