My son's winter concert was everything a middle-schooler's concert should be: sweet, funny, idealistic, lots of relatives oohing and cooing with all the latest technology to record this moment, and all of us seeing another generation grow up right in front of our eyes.
One of the choir's songs sung about miracles and the ability to believe in one another. It was a gentle rebuke to what had happened a few days ago.
A few days ago, threatening notes were discovered warning of guns and shooting at our local high school. The school administration acted swiftly and safely with a preventative lockdown in the middle of the day for about five hours while police investigated the situation. Everyone was safe, and there was no incident.
Everyone dealt with this professionally and calmly. Everyone knows there is a racial issue that needs healing. Meetings with parents and the community are underway right now. I know I am speaking in general "everyone" terms, but I am giving you a broad sweep of the picture here.
In praying about this, I went back to that dear little song from those middle-schoolers, and asked: what about miracles? Miracles are defined by Mary Baker Eddy as "divinely natural." Divinely natural, so that harmony, living together peacefully and respectfully are seen as normal and natural, not some far-away, hard-to-achieve goal.
To see this as divinely natural, we start by understanding the divine - God - and His divine creation - that would be us. We are divine, we are of God, we are made in His image and likeness. With this understanding, harmony is seen as the transforming power it is - and what may seem to be a miracle, becomes a divinely natural occurrence, something that we all learn humanly.
To believe in one another is to see each other as a child of God.
You know, the racial tension that is being felt is arguably passed down from generation to generation. A flare-up happens, and the confused thought doesn't know where it came from or why it happened. The God-like thought knows that this is hereditary hatred and injustice that claims to be active on all sides, but has no original authority.
And prayer that dives down even deeper, below this level, reaches the pure and primitive nature of who we are, who we all are as children of God, and what our true spiritual nature is about. This is the type of prayer that uproots and decapitates the destructive arrogance and replaces it with a humble, fertile and earnest love.
Each of us has an inherent dignity, worth and distinctive purpose. Each of us has a loving Father, a tender Mother. And this Father - Mother God never leaves us and has governed us, and continues to govern us all.
Understanding miracles and believing in each other opens up possibilities - all kinds of possibilities - for peace, progress and a deep settled joy.
So how about you? How have miracles and believing in each other opened up new possibilities for you?
To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.
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