Becoming A Miracle Worker

"Today the promise of God's Word is kept. Hear and be silent. He would speak to you. He comes with miracles a thousand times as happy and as wonderful as those you ever dreamed or wished for in your dreams. His miracles are true. They will not fade when dreaming ends. They end the dream instead; and last forever..."

                                 - A Course in Miracles, Workbook, Lesson 106

Who of us has not longed or prayed for a miracle in our lives.  I can recall several agonizing times in my own life when the consequences of an impending disaster felt unbearable, and I prayed for a desired outcome. One particularly difficult situation involved our youngest son's preliminary medical diagnosis that might have meant his very short life would soon end.  Even though at the time I was ensconced within the faith-lined walls of a seminary, I could not help but ask for the physical miracle. One of my faith-filled classmates took me aside during one insufferable day of awaiting the prognosis, and gently reminded me that the outcome of our son's health was beyond our control, and did I want to pray for peace of mind. I did, and we did. Thankfully, our son survived and thrived.

Who of us can be faulted for becoming attached to our children and wanting them to live long and healthy lives?  Or clinging to preferences for what seems precious and important. Yet we know that the young die, and the good suffer, and the stories of seeming injustices and unfair outcomes can show up on anybody's doorstep. Knowing this common and difficult reality surely has driven me to seek a deeper faith, than one built solely on outer manifestations.

Even though it is much easier said than done, it remains my core belief that finding peace in the midst of challenge is the crowing attainment of a faithful life, and the deepest realization of prayer. Why is peace of mind the holy grail of spiritual effort? Because it is unconditional, unequivocal and immune from the caprice of good fortune and misfortune.  This peaceful abiding place allows for the "good cheer" that Jesus described as beyond appearances. It is the Elysian field where our sense of wholeness is restored. Jesus called it the Kingdom of Heaven within.

No matter how much we may want our life to bend according to our will, such outcomes, no matter how spectacular, do not offer lasting peace. You know the treachery behind the promise. The mind that creates a preference, will only concoct a new elusive desire on the heels of the last fulfillment. No sooner are you satisfied, than you are wanting again. It never ends, and never ends in lasting peace.

The nature of our ego-mind (relentless desire), and the spiritual counterpart (the choice for true freedom and inner peace) are the core teachings of A Course In Miracles.  The Course defines a true miracle "as a shift in perception." This teaching is the true "Secret" if there ever was one.

Even if we can't set it right, with God's help we can see it rightly. By asking for a perceptual shift, and being receptive , we can be shown the way of greater peace, greater love, greater joy, and greater abundance.  From this unalterable, eternal and unambiguous place, we bring a completely new awareness to our lives and conditions.  This is how we become miracles workers ---by releasing our perceptions and inviting the Divine to "look through our eyes and love through our hearts, and serve through our hands." Is this easy? Not at all, but unless we can actually calm the squalls in our lives, this approach is the only way to find the eye within the storm, a place of grace and peace.