WHY WE STILL BELIEVE IN MIRACLES: KEEPING HOPE ALIVE AND WELL

A series of essays.....

SAINT LEO THE GREAT ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
IN LITTLE ITALY, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
 

   Courtesy: saintleorcc.com



.....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

Why do we still believe in miracles? Put quite simply, because it’s so important to keep hope alive!

What is considered a miracle, anyway? 

A miracle can be defined as something completely different and personal by each one of us. A miracle could be considered an act as mundane as having a cabbie stop for you in Downtown Manhattan on a rainy day, or finding the perfect buyer for your home within days of listing it. It may be as complicated and pure as knowing that each tiny snowflake is created with its own intricate and individual pattern, or observing the miracle of life while placing your hand on your Mommy's growing tummy and feel your baby brother or sister kicking from within.

Any instance of things that happen beyond our normal threshold of understanding or control, and is a superb example of something wonderful and marvelous, can be entitled miraculous, no matter how large or small the case in point may be. 

CAPTURING TIME IN A BOTTLE

I believe we underestimate the true power of this seven letter word or, at least, its meaning has been diluted as time slips through our fingers and passes by like the sands in an hour glass. The flow of sand visually fascinates us even when we know that the size of the opening, gravity, and the amount of sand itself are three factors that allow each grain that passes from one compartment to another the ability to, literally, capture time in a bottle!

Miracles have been described as extraordinary occurrences that surpass all known human powers or natural forces and are ascribed to a divine (godly) or supernatural cause.

Having grown-up within the doctrine of the Catholic Church and participated in it’s particular theology every day as a child, miracles were always a part of my life in the form of ‘turning water into wine,’ returning sight to a blind man, and attending mass each morning before classes and staring at Jesus hanging on the cross above the altar, blood draining from his hands, his feet and a large, man-inflicted gash beneath his breast bone. The belief that he died for our sins and rose from the dead three days later to sit at the right hand of his Father is of central importance to the Christian faith. For a small, wide-eyed kid....nothing could be more miraculous than this.

RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
BY NOEL COYPEL

                         Courtesy: Wikipedia

From an early age, we learn about, analyze, and want to believe in the prospect of good things happening that are, many times, far beyond our control. It’s just so cool to think that there’s an invisible superpower acting on our behalf! This gives us hope to cling to when our future may look grim. To think that when we least expect it, if we think or pray hard and long enough, something that is much larger than any of us could happen and change our life for the better; just like that!

As an American, a Christian person, and all-around hopeful individual living in a land that has drastically shifted gears from caring about mankind and human rights in general to shifting its attention to only a handful of rich, power hunger, over-privileged, greedy, people...it’s time to believe and hope in the power of miracles. We certainly could use a ‘doosie’ right about now, Mr. Mueller...if you’re listening!

However, we must not place all of our eggs in one basket, and we must be intelligent enough to see and understand the danger of false hope associated with this practice. For miracles (change) to take place, a certain balance must be achieved between the ‘Spirit of Hope’ itself and the hard work and dedication contributed by all of us who believe it is our duty to keep all hope alive and well. 

BALANCING THE SCALES IN TODAY'S WORLD

With Hope as our guideline and hard work the game plan, let us feel encouraged by the fact that so many of us are finding that balance in our lives and continue to make things happen and shake things up. 

From the depths of despair can arise renewed hope just like the Phoenix rising from the ashes with renewed youth to live through another day. Several Sandy Hook family members whose loved ones were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012, have organized the ‘Sandy Hook Promise,’ a national non-profit organization with the intent of honoring all victims of gun violence by providing programs and practises that protect children and prevent the senseless and tragic loss of life.

The powerful miracle here is witnessing the strength and resilience that many survivors of these violent crimes seem to attain in order to move on with life. They create needed change through their organizations, marches, and sit-ins, and offer the rest of us examples of non-violent, productive action after such horrendous circumstances changed them, forever.

From the Sandy Hook parents to the Parkland shooting survivors and their anti-gun violence activism, they continue to make vibrant ripples across the deep waters of change. Sadly, they represent all of the victims of senseless mass shootings that have suffered before, between, and after their own experiences. I remain proud and strong because of all of you... 

Whether you believe in small or large miracles, something wonderful happening in your life, or extraordinary and divine occurrences that may just change your life forever....it’s time to keep all of your possibilities and options open. The important ingredient is that you ‘Believe.’ Keeping ourselves open to anything good these days is an asset to our health and well-being and realizing that those around us are contributing to this cause will boost and enhance our positive feelings of joy and love. 

"FIREFLY LIGHTING UP THE DARK NIGHT"

                             Courtesy: pinterest.com

Hang in there with me, my friends because, whether we realize it or not, miracles happen every day! Like lightening bugs glowing brightly in the backyard in the darkness of night, we need to open our eyes, find them, and be guided by their light.

Copyright © 2018 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved

REAL HEROES: DAVID HOGG AND OUR POSTMAN'S SON

A series of essays.....

PARTIAL VIEW OF OUR LIBRARY VIA THE FRONT DOOR

.....as seen through my eyes!





By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

Enjoying the opportunity to begin writing around six-thirty every weekday morning has its ups and its downs. Kissing the husband good-bye as he heads off to work, grabbing my mug filled to the brim with freshly brewed coffee, and making my way over to snuggle on the couch with i-Pad nestled on my lap.....is pure heaven for me. Now is my time to become totally immersed within the world inside my head, for better or worse.

One ‘down’ for this particular morning is having to listen to a crew ripping off a neighbor’s shingles, two houses down from us, in preparation for a new roof. They have decided to take advantage of our earlier sunrise and promote the resounding echos generated by the fruits of their labor which are bouncing around the subdivision like gigantic, rusty chains being scraped along metal grates!  Add a little sandy grit to the mix and you can imagine the detrimental effect on me in terms of unanticipated distraction! Can the disagreeable rhythm of powerful nail guns be far behind?

There’s, also, the fact that I tend to hang-out in my sleeping attire far longer than most people are able to. As long as nobody requires me to open the front door for any medical emergency....I’m set to go, feet resting on the soft, beige ottoman and time becoming irrelevant to my current state of mind. 

As with most of us who make a deliberate effort to care about the world and her people, the subjects of gun control, Dreamers, Immigrants, corruption and greed, bigotry, illicit affairs, and hate plague our thoughts on a daily basis. I believe that if we can find one ‘shining moment’ every day and concentrate on it for at least thirty minutes, this process will help to enlighten our moral outlook and keep us moving in a forward motion.

Last Thursday’s ‘shining moment’ presented itself to me in a unique manner. Not only did I keep it in my thoughts for a very long time, I decided that this enlightening moment had to be shared. It happened to be fortuitous that I’d already showered and changed into daytime clothing before it all went down!

POSTAL LETTER CARRIER
UNIFORM  ~  SUMMER BASEBALL CAP

He rang the front doorbell. You would like to think that anyone standing on your front stoop would not take advantage of looking directly into your home via the sidelight but, he did. 

Placing my i-Pad off to the side, I walked around our ‘Grandpa’s Chair’ (purchased for its larger yet cozy capacity for sitting and cuddling with Grandchildren) and into the foyer to gaze out at my unscheduled guest from my side of the sidelight before opening the front door. His broad smile along with a cap and shirtfront displaying the recognizable Seal of Delivery of the United States Postal Service gave him away. I opened the door.

“Are you Jacqueline Hughes?” he inquired in very good English but with a thick accent reminiscent of a Spanish speaking native who has lived in this the U.S. for many years. “Yes,” I replied. Next he was handing me a tiny machine and asking me to sign my Etch-a-Sketch signature before signing and printing my name on the registered letter itself. As I was signing my life away for one elongated, white envelope, he peeped through the open door and exclaimed, “Oh, I love your library!” Could he have endeared me more to him by saying anything else, I ask you?

“Thank you. You must be an avid reader,” I said.

“Oh, yes I am! I love books. I love to read. And, it’s so rare to see home libraries anymore. Your library is beautiful!” His excitement was contagious and heartwarming.

My new friend was beaming and I could sense that there was much more to this story than a huge smile and extreme fawning over our cozy library would tell me. And, there was....

“My oldest son was accepted to Harvard! He was just informed yesterday! We are so proud of him!” he blurted out in what seemed like one, long exhaled breath. “He’d been accepted at MIT, as well, but has always had his heart set on attending Harvard!” All five feet and close to five inches of him was shaking with pride and love and all of those happy, wonderful emotions that we parents feel and display so readily when it comes to the unique accomplishments of our offspring.

~~SPRINGTIME AT HARVARD~~

                                   Photo: Courtesy USA Today

“How wonderful that is for your son and for you, too!” I said while feeling myself bobbing up and down in mirrored rhythm to his ‘joy and happiness dance’ enforced by his exuberant vibes. “I am so happy for you and for your son and family. The hard work he has had to put into everything he does is paying off for him.”

“I know. I know. He has earned a partial scholarship and that is supplemented with various grants he’s applied for. It will be a long road, I understand this. But, he is strong and knows exactly what he wants in this world and that will help make a difference.”

I continued to bounce along with him as I looked into his sparkling eyes and thought about all of the kids from Parkland, Florida who have resumed their own high school studies this past week. They are the so-called ‘privileged’ white kids who, if accepted into Harvard or MIT or Northwestern University, may not have to depend on the supplemental grants to get them through their college careers. They may not have to take-on a part-time job in order to afford any little extras along the way. 

Their baggage, however, now includes taking-on the memory of hate in its purest form. By having dodged the bullets of a deranged person hell-bent on leaving a legacy of death and destruction, they carry the burden of this hatred around with them for the rest of their lives. Judging by what I’ve read and seen, this baggage has already served to strengthen their moral courage and is directing many of them to stir-up change in current political policies that will help protect them and others from haters in the future. I think many of us are waiting for the November elections this year. Undoubtedly, much needed change will happen then.

SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD DAVID HOGG HID IN A
CLOSET WHILE SHOOTER KILLED SEVENTEEN PEOPLE
IN PARKLAND, FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL.
PARKLAND SURVIVOR HAS TURNED ACTIVIST.

And, really, are they that much different than my postman’s son in the long run? The world rests upon all of their young shoulders. It doesn’t matter what personal struggles helped to shape their lives, when their educational values kick in and they become the new leaders of this world, the fields of Arts and Science, Education, Mathematics,Trade Schools, Industry, and so much more, will blossom like fresh new flowers on a warm and sunny spring day with energy and color bursting forth for all to see, learn and profit from, and enjoy!

Before my postman, sporting his thin, dark mustache and brown, penetrating eyes, could leave my front stoop, I wanted to reach out to him one last time and said, “Please know how proud we all are of you and your son. I know for a fact that a much brighter future revolves around him and the youth of this country. We need to let them all know how much their strength and intelligence is appreciated.” I was so grateful at that moment for this fellow human being, slave to his many emotions, who was unafraid to display them all to me!

Just by the look on his face, I was certain he knew exactly whom I was in reference to in this particular case; his son, as well as the Parkland students who will always remain near and dear to us and in our daily thoughts and prayers. I knew this because he stopped, turned back towards me and said, “Yes. Yes. They are the strong ones. We must help them along their journey....” And, he issued me a standard ‘thumbs up’ on his way back to his vehicle.

To think that my book-filled shelves helped to promote this entire conversation only encourages me to constantly support the power and wisdom behind a good education. This jubilant postman opened his heart to me and related one of the most auspicious moments of his family’s life. Together we delivered an homage to this young generation who are television and Social Media savvy warriors and will serve to catapult all Americans into the kind of world we wish to live in. #Progress #Youth #Resist....!

Copyright © 2018 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved