If you haven't already, make sure you check out Part 1 of this series.
But I'd like to dive right into the other types of miracles that God may be granting when He doesn't choose to use miraculous healing as a life's ultimate purpose.
1. Miraculous Reach
It seems a whole lot easier in this day and time to reach a lot of people. You could say one silly thing and end up a viral video sensation, but really, that's still pretty rare. Most of us in our everyday lives meet and maintain a few really great friendships and that's that. You may have a thousand Facebook friends and 500 Instagram followers, but how many of those people do you really know, communicate with, and have a close bond with?
For some people, though, their life miracle is reaching the masses. My cousin Michael led a short life of 32 years, but he traveled all over and maintained genuine friendships that endured the test of time. His funeral, which I talk about a little more in depth here, was even live streamed to a friend of his in Poland, because he was that important to her. He reached so many people. Even though his passing was sudden and heart breaking, and I definitely used my tiny human brain to think that maybe there could still be some miraculous healing there, his passing touched someone in a way that God is using. His story, his kindness, his brilliance, his faith, his questions, his genuine spirit... because of that, I know that seeds were planted all over the world for Jesus.
And that was just from him being him and living the life he would have lived anyway. Imagine the reach others have that choose to do mission work. Imagine all the lives that they touch, all the seeds they plant, and all the good they do in the hearts of others. Those things live on, despite a lack of miraculous healing. Their stories and their love are in the hearts of every person they met and made a lasting impression on.
I'm reminded of a story that reached the masses recently. A man went live on Facebook and shot another man, killing him. I don't know all the details, but I know the story spread all over. That story had miraculous reach. But what the man who was killed had was his miracle, because he had...
2. Miraculous Legacy
Similar to miraculous reach is the miraculous legacy. If miraculous reach is planting seeds, miraculous legacy is the next step of tending to those seeds. And one person could definitely have both of these miracles in their lifetime. You could miraculously reach thousands of people directly while producing a miraculous legacy within your own family and close knit group of friends.
The miraculous legacy is what we leave behind when we have instilled the values of Christ in our children, our families, and our friendships. It's those stories that touch others, long after we're gone. If I can be touched deeply by a person whom I never even met just because of the relationships they had during life, that person left behind a miraculous legacy.
The man that I wrote about above, the man who was murdered, left behind his own miraculous legacy, and because the story of his death had miraculous reach, his legacy picked up the pieces and continued God's work. The family of the man who was senselessly murdered stated that they forgave the killer. They were praying for him. Not for vengeance, not for him to be apprehended, but for his soul. This man's miraculous legacy, the things that he instilled in his children, friends, and family, lived on and touched so many more people than he could have ever imagined touching.
As another example, I told a story in my Life Group today about the first time I'd walked into the room. I'd never met the previous leader of the life group, a guy they called Cam. I didn't know him or his wife, or anyone in the room besides one girl that I'd gone to college with. Cam's wife shared that things hadn't gone well that week with him, and I was filled in briefly that he'd been diagnosed with a brain tumor about a year earlier, and his health was continuing to decline. The group asked his wife what she needed and then we all gathered around her and prayed. I knew that community was where I needed to be from the relationships in that room, but it was even further cemented today. Cam passed. His miracle was not miraculous healing. His miracle was miraculous legacy. The stories told today about what an amazing man he was, how much he emulated Christ, how he always put Christ first and others second, and himself third... those stories made me jealous that I had missed out on knowing him. But they also inspired me and are the reason I had to get this specific post that had been working its way around in my brain for a while written today.
And his story leads me to the third miracle...
3. Miraculous Transformation
The stories that were told today about this man that I never met told a story of a man that changed. They were the epitome of what our pastor has been preaching about: shedding your old story when you come to know Jesus and living a brand new story. It's a story of being able to say "that was me, that's not me now, because Jesus." It's a story of reflecting the name of Jesus in such a way that you are unrecognizable to the people who knew you before.
Every Christian's life has a miraculous transformation, a story of being blind but now I see, a story of being lost but now I'm found. Not everyone will go from sex drugs and rock n' roll to preaching on a pulpit. That's not my story, although I have had my own set backs that now are part of my testimony. Some people have the blessing of being brought up in a Christian home, as I was, and always having the support and love of a large extended Christian family. Their miraculous transformation is still there, it just may not be as outwardly apparent or as seemingly grandiose to the observers.
But, some people have that transformation story that rocks worlds. Some people have a miraculous transformation that is visible to outsiders and they are able to point directly back to the love and grace and sacrifice of Jesus. It's an incredible miracle, a living testimony, and a glowing recommendation for Christ that inspires all of us.
4. Miraculous Perseverance
Sometimes the miracle IS the fight. It's the fact that through pain, loss, confusion, heart break, depression, the joy of CHRIST shines through. And sometimes that perseverance is left behind in the miraculous legacy. Look at a Christian who has lost a loved one. Yes, they cry in the dark. Yes, they question, scream, whisper why? But they have a joy, they have a hope, they have faith.
It's hard to be positive all the time and God does not expect us to always be happy. Happiness is a feeling, just like anger and sadness and so many others. The difference is that we always have joy because we always have Christ. While happiness is a feeling, joy is a state of being. Joy is there in the anger, sadness, jealousy, rage. It's in the background reminding us of our mission, of God's love, and of the peace that waits in the midst of all of this.
Sometimes when we pray for miracles, God grants it through allowing us to have a little more time with a loved one. Allowing them to fight the good fight and set an even greater example for others that, even though I'm feeling like this right now, I still have joy, I still reflect my Jesus, and I still want to help others find Him.
Other Miracles
What other ways does God grant miracles when miraculous healing is not in His plan? These were the few that came to me as I was praying over this post, but you may be able to share more, and I'd love your feedback! My prayer is that, even though we will always grieve the loss of our loved ones and really and truly experience and deal with that grief in our own time, someone will find some comfort in the words that God shared through this post.
When grief is a fresh, raw wound, sometimes you just want to be in the grief for a while and feel the loss. I understand that. God gives us all different ways to deal with it in our own lives. If you ever experience the deep grief that seems inescapable, please find someone to talk to and someone to pray with you. You can email me at hollie.alicia@gmail.com, even if it's just to help pray for you. No one should ever go through loss alone.
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