SHELLI JOHNSON
A quick lesson in miracles.
“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle, you can live as if everything is a miracle.” ~ Albert Einstein
When I was younger, I wholeheartedly believed in miracles. I saw my life as a series of miracles. Breathing. The sun coming warm through my window. The leaves changing color in the fall. Running & feeling inside my body. Reading books & getting lost in the story. Writing for hours. But then things started to change, and as the years went by, so did my belief in miracles.
HUSBAND
I got married. Everything fell into place perfectly. It was a series of little miracles: meeting him in an unlikely way, having him propose two weeks (no joke!) later, me listening to my heart instead of my head & saying yes, having a tiny but lovely wedding. And then we started living together. His dirty dishes all over the house. Ditto, his dirty laundry. Snoring. Me being a night owl, him liking to get up at the crack of dawn. The way he was used to doing things & was inflexible about doing them differently (i.e. my way). Um, not such a miracle then.
BABIES
My body, miracle of miracles, made two beautiful people. I got to feel them kicking inside me. I got to be there when they took their first breaths. I got to hold them & have them fall asleep on my chest. I got to watch them grow & change & learn. I got to experience their wonder & see how life looked to someone brand new to it. And then they grew up some and started talking back. And not listening. And being loud. And fighting with each other, then sometimes with me. So yeah, not such miracles anymore, it didn’t seem.
WRITING
I wrote my first novel in total anonymity, holed up in my little writing room with not one person waiting for it to get done. A miracle because I got everything I needed to write that book when I needed it. I’d jot notes in my journal like I need someone who knows about schizophrenia and a week or so later, I got introduced to a woman who had lived with an adult schizophrenic & who graciously answered all my questions about how it was to be with him when he was off his medications. That kind of thing happened over and over again while I was writing that book. I’d been nervous: writing it had seemed daunting and I’d been unsure of my ability. Four years later, it was done. A miracle, for sure. Then readers loved it. And so did critics. And it won an award & a grant. All miracles, too. Then the rejections started rolling in. And readers started asking for my next book. And the pressure mounted to write something not only just as good but even better the next time. Okay, maybe not such a miraculous thing after all.
AND THE POINT IS . . .
A few years ago, I realized I was happier when I was younger. At first, I thought it was because I had less responsibility & more free time to do things I loved. Maybe it was some of that. But, too, it was because all those years ago I saw life as a series of miracles. If life isn’t a series of miracles, then it’s just a series of random happenings. And if it’s just a series of random happenings, then where’s the wonder? I believe Einstein was right. At least for me, not looking for the miracles stole my joy. And I’d rather be happy. So now I make a point of looking for & expecting miracles. Like most things in life, it’s a choice & that’s the way I choose to live.
How do you feel about miracles? What’s your choice? Please feel free to share your thoughts & experiences in the comment box below.
Shelli Johnson
Writer
Shelli Johnson is an award-winning author and journalist. Her debut book, Small as a Mustard Seed, has been heralded as “a superbly-crafted and reader-engaging novel” that will “run you through an emotional marathon at a sprinter’s pace.” Learn more about Shelli here. Keep in touch through her newsletter or subscribe to her blog.
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6 Responses to A Quick Lesson In Miracles
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I’ve never heard that particular quote by Einstein before, but I love it (and I think I have to steal it for a FB status update).
What do I think of miracles? I think it’s easier to believe in them when we’re young because life can disappoint us as we get older. But I think we have a choice, to either go with the flow and become cynical and jaded…or to still look for the miraculous happenings all around us.
The only problem is, too few people will view things like the cardinal at the bird feeder in the midst of a beautiful snowfall as a miracle. Sure, it’s pretty but…a miracle? Sure is. That bird isn’t going to sit there all day waiting for you to look out the window and see it.
Most people look at miracles as BIG things. Like the parting of the Red Sea. Or maybe one of the ‘bigger’ miracles in my life.
We were in Tennessee for my father’s funeral and my youngest daughter and I were coming back from dropping flowers off at the funeral home. We were stopped at a red light when we heard a tremendous crash behind us, then saw a car pass us on the left. It went up over the curb, missing the passenger side of the car by about two inches (literally). The driver then plowed into the the truck ahead of us so hard she drove the tire under the truck, and then she hit the car ahead of it hard enough to crumple the trunk. The initial crash was her slamming into the second car behind us, sending it into the car directly behind us.
That woman caused serious damage to three cars, minor damage to a 4th…yet our car wasn’t even scratched. And the entire passenger side should have been a mangled mess. My daughter could have stuck nothing but her finger out of the window and touched the woman’s car on its way past…it was THAT close.
That’s the kind of thing most people consider a miracle. Not the cardinal. Not the baby goats frolicking in the field down the road (and there isn’t much that’s cuter than baby goats playing). Not the moment when you and your child laugh until tears stream down your faces because one of you heard a word wrong.
Miracles can be really big. But there are so many smaller ones we miss because we let the cares of life blind us.
And I’ll apologize now if this is confusing. I, too, have turned into a night owl and my brain is barely awake right now.
Hi Kristy! It’s so true that when life gets disappointing, the whole idea of miracles kind of fades. I love this because I believe it, too: “But I think we have a choice, to either go with the flow and become cynical and jaded…or to still look for the miraculous happenings all around us.” And you’re right that most people believe miracle = big event (like your harrowing car experience ~ yikes, glad you were both okay). But it’s the small daily miracles that matter most, at least to me. I love this, too: “Miracles can be really big. But there are so many smaller ones we miss because we let the cares of life blind us.” Well said.
Thanks for sharing this heartfelt post. It’s so wonderful. You have such a way of saying it just right~I love that about you!
I put off writing for a long time. It was my secret, my passion, but I didn’t do it for many years. I was caught up in a career that paid well, but left me terrified of failure for years. And, I stopped being in the present and in the presence of my miracles–my kids and my husband. I was frenzied and worn out. I didn’t see the miracles of my life anymore. Then, things changed dramatically. I lost my high tech sales job and decided it was “now or never” with the writing.
So, I wrote a novel. Put it away. Read everything about writing I could get my hands on and took writing classes. And, I wrote another novel and it won a contest. Like you the praise came along and then there were the rejections. So, I did it myself~published my work.
I think, perhaps, the miracle is recognizing it for yourself. Whatever that “it” is for you.
As always, your writing reminds me to take a breath, go for balance, and embrace the miracle of the day.
Thank you, Shelli!
KO
Hi Katherine! I love this: “I stopped being in the present and in the presence of my miracles.” I think that happens to all of us, especially moms. I get caught up, too, with everything I have to do & then all the things that should be miracles end up being just something on my to-do list. I’m sorry you lost your job on one hand & happy you did on the other; that’s a miracle, too ~ having something drastic happen that finally points you in the right direction ~ even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time.
An interesting approach. I don’t see life as a series of miracles, nor random events – just the result of so many intersecting forces that I have little influence on. So, they may as well be miracles or random.
The only thing that I can control is a little of what I do – and I can’t even control snoring.
Great post, Shelli!
Hi Scott! Thanks so much for sharing your perspective. It’s very true that we don’t have control over a lot of things. Your comment “I can’t even control snoring.” made me laugh.