See The Miracles All Around You

24 Jul

“There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.”  ~ Albert Einstein

I remember it as if it were yesterday.  Mid-September in the year 2000, my cousin passed away.  He was born with Down’s syndrome.  As a matter of fact, he had been a test case later in his life by a med student who determined that he had the classic missing segment in a chromosome that made him who he was.  He also had a congenital heart defect that often accompanies such cases.

When he was born, the doctors approached my aunt and uncle and told them that their baby had a major health problem and tried to persuade them to institutionalize their baby so as not to go through the grief of attempting to raise him and have him die an early death.  My aunt would not hear of it.  She took him home “for as long as he has”.  He ended up having quite a many years, ultimately achieving a third grade level of education, before he died from cardiac complications.

James Paul was an innocent.  He was the living statement of Albert Einstein’s quote.  James Paul looked upon everything as a miracle.  He was surprised and gleeful every time we would come to visit.  He was surprised overjoyed every time he received a gift.  He was open and gracious and loving to everyone.  Even when he was in pain, he looked at life around him with great big loving eyes.

Later in his life, after receiving First Communion, he would look at the Eucharist when I brought it to him and his eyes would glow.  To many, they have a hard time seeing past the element of bread.  To him, he knew that Jesus was in my hands and was being offered to him.  He took Jesus into himself with pride and joy and a reverent faith.

We complicate life way too much.  We read so many things into the situations in which we find ourselves.  In doing so, we block ourselves from seeing God in the picture.  God is everywhere.  God is omnipresent.  However, in our complicated states of life, we often fail to see Him.  If we cannot see Him, we cannot respond to Him.

It is a true miracle that God is present to us in everyone and every experience.  Let us ask God to open our eyes so that we may see Him and respond to Him in simpleness, in faith, and in trust.  James Paul, see if you can give us a hand in seeing Jesus as you saw Him, okay?

FAITH ACTION:  Look for God in every experience and everyone you encounter today and celebrate each time you find Him.