There are two ways to live in the world.
One is to think that nothing is a miracle
The other way is to see everything as a miracle."

-- A. Einstein


Recently, I had surgery that saved my life.

It was major surgery to clear out a blocked carotid artery on the right side of my neck, the same part of my body most effected by Cervical Dystonia. (I am not a doctor -- but I would encourage everyone living with Cervical Dystonia to get a Carotid scan -- just in case!)

This operation is a big deal. It's formal name --Endarterectomy -- makes you sound like you have a mouthful of marbles when you say it. But it is definitely worth learning about. It is a procedure doctors do to keep you from suffering a stroke.

For me, it was a surgery that shouldn't have happened -- and wouldn't have happened except for some miracles.

Miracles. That is a heady term. A pretty big claim. But hear me out.

Miracle number one. My blockage was discovered by "accident" during an ultrasound test. My GP had noticed a small bump on my neck and wanted a closer look. By the time I had the imaging though, the bump had vanished. The technician couldn't find it but she found the plaque.

Miracle number two. I was operated on January 6th -- Epiphany -- at Boston University Medical Center by Dr. Jonathan Woodson and his team. He not only removed the stable plaque clinging to the walls of my artery, but caught what he said was a particularly unstable chunk poised to break free and ride my churning blood, like a surfboard caught in a rogue wave, until it ran aground somewhere in my brain, causing a stroke.

To say I feel like the luckiest, most incredibly blessed person in the world is an understatement. I do.

At the same time I feel confounded at times as I try to answer a pressing spiritual question --
How do you respond to a miracle?

Maybe this is one you've struggled to answer too. It's a big question and one we're not encouraged to consider enough.

I know I will spend the rest of my life finding the answers to that question.

Here is the first answer to come along:

When Faced With A Miracle, Take The Pebbles Out of Your Shoes.

So often we feel like we move through life with a pebble in at least one of our shoes. We focus on small, irritating things that impede our progress. Don't get me wrong, we all have problems from time to time. Living with a movement disorder like Dystonia, Parkinson's Disease, Tremor and other conditions guarantees a whole bunch of hassles.

But even in the midst of our struggles, we can take time to appreciate the miracles in our lives created by a loving God.. Even if we don't believe like Einstein that EVERYTHING is potentially miraculous, there are likely more miracles out there than we've noticed.

The sight of birds at the feeder in the spring, a day of sunshine, an effective medicine or treatment, the love of a spouse, friends and colleagues, a beloved pet, a successful hour at physical therapy or exercise class. All of these and more are divine miracles we can recognize or pass over.

Getting the pebbles out of our shoes changes us spiritually. It frees us to look up instead of down. It can make us feel that instead of living with a stone in our sneakers we have a star over our heads and that our star will guide us.

My prayer today is that each one of us will discover the multitude of miracles around us.

Blessings and peace,

Lindsay