Ms. Leslie, I have a miracle!

"Ms. Leslie, I have to tell you my miracle..."  This sweet refrain has followed me around for the past week and a half, and I rejoice every time I hear it. It all started last Wednesday when it was my turn to lead chapel for our school kids, preschool through middle school, in four different gatherings. Our text for the day was the wedding at Cana, and though I didn't focus on miracles as the point of the lesson, the word "miracle" grabbed my littlest ones, so I camped there a bit with all of them. Our working definition was something like this,

miracle: something amazing God does in the world that we just can't explain, so we say, "That's amazing! Thanks be to God!!!"

They started naming miracles for me. Not surprisingly, the younger the group, the longer and simpler the list. They see God at work everywhere.
"When someone is sick and then they are better."
"There's a crash and nobody gets hurt."
"You fall on the playground and you get back up and keep playing."
"When birds are flying."
"My new baby cousin."
"It's morning and then it's nighttime and then it's morning again!"  (I think that was my favorite.)

The middle schoolers were pretty hesitant, but with a little encouragement, the list grew. The final and most perfect addition:
"Well, I would think Jesus forgiving all our sins is a pretty big miracle. Isn't it?"
Oh yes, dear one!

As we wrapped up chapel each time I challenged them to be on the lookout for miracles, and told them I wanted to hear them. Because a miracle is a chance a praise God together for what God is doing every day.
I haven't been disappointed.
"Ms. Leslie, I have a miracle. My brother was sick and suddenly he was better!"
"Ms. Leslie, my miracle is I found a shell!"
"Ms. Leslie, Jesus rose from the dead. He's not in heaven because he died, he's in heaven because he rose up! It's a miracle"
(Loved this. Six year olds tend to skip Lent altogether)

So how about you? Do you recognize the work of God all around you as miraculous? Do you take the chance to say, "That's amazing. Thanks be to God!" Maybe today is the day to put on the eyes of a little one and see a miracle in the simple acts of life. Or maybe just focus on Jesus for a bit.
I really do want to hear them. Let us rejoice. Together.