It is a Miracle, not Magic

"No. Our Lord expects works from us! If you see someone sick whom you can relieve, never fear losing your devotion; have compassion on her; if she is in pain, feel it as if it were your own, and when there is need, fast so that she may eat, not so much for her sake as because you know your Lord asks it of you. This is the true union of our will with the will of God. If you possess fraternal charity, I assure you that you will attain the union I have described."  St Teresa of Avila   

  

Two weeks after my knee operation, I see my doctor who happily tells me that all is well.  From now, I am just to keep walking, with a walking stick, while doing my simple exercises.  I was left in shock.  This is real?  It was never meant to be this easy and quick.  What happened to the pain?  Where is this leading?  

On hearing this good news, I thought it is not supposed to be like this.  I was in shock with such an immediate, definitive and positive call by the doctor.  I was now thinking - What am I to do to get fully functional?  This was too good to be true.  It just seemed all too much to deal with so quickly.    

So I discovered that one can be just as shocked with good news, as with bad, leaving one just as dumbfounded.  No matter what I feel, no matter the shock, this is real; it truly is.  I just have to take it in.  Is it that we can more readily accept bad news than good?  I posit that my shock may be due to instantaneously being placed in a new life category.  This good news moves me immediately from being a patient to being discharged back onto the streets, into real life.  Being a patient has its benefits, but no more.    

Now this is frightening, this is challenging, for there are no longer excuses around a bad knee, for being too comfortable.  I just have to take responsibility and get on with life, doing what it takes to be once again up and moving.  This takes risks; this takes hard work; this means taking a leap in faith.  This is a reminder that I have truly experienced a miracle, not magic, for a miracle involves sacrifice and faith, not some magical formula.  Life is a miracle, living in union with God, our companion, for which there is no magical escape hatch leading into fantasy land.