Mini-Miracles...Or Something of the Like

Out to dinner with my Dad, we got to talking about how fitting it is that I was able to spend four months in Rome. He made a comment about how it was no surprise to him that everything fell into place and that I should never doubt my reason for being there because of all the little things that have happened in my life.

What do you mean?

I knew this needed a little more probing and that his answer would be good.

He proceeded to remind me of some little (but really...big) mini-phenomenons that have shown us the guiding hand of God. I couldn't stop smiling as he recounted stories like running into a man who had a map with the exact route we needed to get me to the convent I entered after high school. Or when we were driving the 12 hours to said convent and there was not a single drop of rain the whole way there and back. Or how about skipping forward a couple years to the time when I considered not going to Rome due to a lack of finances and only a day later found a refund check for the two extra credits the University charged? And on top of that, receiving a scholarship from an alumnae association a great-aunt was a membership of!

He was spot-on when he said something along the lines of, "When these kinds of things happen to you all the time, you start to think it's no big deal...but if you stop and think about it, they're really like miracles!"

There is one story from Rome that takes the cake, according to my parents. So much so, that my Mom was the first one to say, "Did you tell that story on your blog? Because you should!!"



As per request of my mother, here goes:



The story begins in my Fall Semester. Due to my clumsiness, I misplaced a key ring that had some of my favorite medals on it: a cross from a retreat, a little heart with "Serenity prayer" inscribed, a St. John Paul the Great/Our Lady of Czestochowa, and a Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta. I had them on a key ring because the chain around my neck was getting too heavy. :)

At any rate, I was really bummed about this, but resigned to the fact that as with all the medals I lose, someone who finds it may need it more.

And so, life moved on. From time to time, I would miss the medals, but there's not much more I could do - I had asked the Lost & Found on campus, but to no avail. I don't know if "Frozen" was in theaters by then, but I had to just Let it Go, right?




Sooner or later, I found myself riding in a European public bus with a group of 24 other students from my University. By this point, I had already accumulated different medals from the holy places I visited. Some of these medals I kept for myself and would put on one of the key rings attached to my back pack.

In the midst of dreamily gazing out the dirty window, I hear a voice from behind: "Hey Liz, do you know anyone else who puts medals on a key chain like that?"

I thought about this..."Not really...I think I'm the only one who does. At least, I haven't seen anybody else do it, now that I think about it. Maybe there's a couple people, though, because I don't know where I got the idea from."

"Well, I found these medals attached to a key chain back on the home campus a while ago..."

...

I was like:

"You're kidding!! Does it have a big retreat cross on it?!" She nodded. "Those are mine! I was looking for them forever! Did you bring them with?"

MoDo* explained to me that she was looking for the owner during the Fall, and when she hadn't found who they belonged to, she decided to bring them to Rome with her so that she could touch them to all of the holy places she visited. She said, "Now you can have them and continue to take them with you!" 

And so I did! They stayed with me until the end and made it safely back to the States.

Praise God for His kindness and generosity even in the smallest of things! My Dad was right, it's bizarre that I would lose these medals only to have them returned to me while I was across the ocean and by a person who was searching for me because we ended up studying in Rome the same semester! What are the odds of that happening? When I first told the story to my parents, I was nonchalant about it all, simply because it was neat. As I watched my parents' reactions and their awe of it all, I discovered that yes - indeed - it is spectacular. In my journey with the Lord, my days can be full of these tiny, little, mini-miracles. Last night at dinner, I saw a child-like joy in my father as he recounted my own stories of mini-miracles that have affected him. This is what I was hoping for after I returned from Rome: a re-evangelization of my family and friends, of my loved ones. I have great hope for the way the Lord wants to work in and through me - using me as His instrument - being a living example of the JOY that comes from a life lived with and for Christ.

Jesus meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine; and may I never let the monotony of life overcome my awe and wonder at Your abundant Love in all things big and small.

*MoDo was the nickname the Rome group gave her, and it subsequently hides her identity! Killing two birds with one stone...:)