Miracle Stories

Miracle Stories. I glanced through a few old journals tonight, taken from my 10 gallon tub of them accumulated in the past 15 years.

Some greatness popped out.

Like when I left Ireland after a semester abroad in college. My dear Irish friend wrote me a departure letter and included a Scripture verse: Mark 2:11. I looked it up with another Irish friend later; it read: "Pick up your mat and leave."

She laughed so hard, she ended up seated on the floor in my closet.

After that, we reminisced about the semester and looked at every nook in my room to remember everything. Then, just for fun we embarked on some rebellious evangelization: we climbed into the top of my desk and wrote "Jesus Saves" with our names and the date above the doorway, very small near the molding so you couldn't see it from the floor--I bet it's still there and blessed every person who ever stayed there...

The man who wrote the letter once put an orange on my desk in the middle of class; another time, he tried to split a minuscule piece of chocolate with me, which was impossible to break because of its size. My sister and I stayed at his house two years later, and he showed us how he taught his cows to lick the toes of his boots.

In 2008, I wrote a reflection on the plane ride home from India my senior year of college. "Lord, help me to realize my own worth is the gift of life you gave me, your love within me."

In 2011, I asked my mom how people can be content in this life. She said: loving people so much that you forget yourself (but still renew yourself so you can give), letting go of pride, detachment from material things. Live simply and love God.

That same night, I met a woman at a Lectio Divina gathering who said, vocation is the meeting of what you are most passionate about with what will most help the world.