I’m here to tell a story. A true story.

But first ….

Do you believe in miracles?

Interesting question. The percentage of Americans who believe in miracles is declining, with the faith increasing that science holds all of the answers. Depending upon the poll, how the question is phrased and the demographic breakdown, still a whole lot of people believe in miracles.

Now, when most people think of miracles, they quickly go to physical healing. For some inexplicable reason, a terrible thing just vanishes, sometimes virtually overnight. Even jaded doctors are left with just a good-natured shrug and, perhaps, a statement somewhat like, “Well, sometimes we just don’t know. The body is a complicated thing!”

But, let’s get back to the question.

I’ve written about this before but had another conversation about it the other day. And, of course, this is the time of year when the better part of over 2 billion people around the world (to some degree) profess belief in a miracle.

Without putting too fine a point on it, let’s just agree that a miracle is an event that cannot be linked to any possible natural explanation. It is outside of all laws of science and nature. By definition, then, a miracle is a supernatural event.

Here, perhaps, is where miracle-believing or God-believing people sort of go, “So what? Of course.” Non miracle-believing and non God-believing people respond with some variation of “There are other explanations and just because we can’t figure it out, that doesn’t mean there aren’t perfectly valid natural solutions. Heck, look how science continues to take the mystery out of stuff! People ascribed all sorts of supernatural causes to things that we’ve long since discovered have very reasonable natural solutions.”

As someone who considers myself quite rational and inquisitive, I don’t submit lightly to claims of miraculous events. I’m a big fan of science and the skepticism that undergirds all real scientific processes. Scientists are rightfully driven to break things down and examine them in the most minute detail, searching for clues that maybe others have missed. They have every right to be extremely suspicious, if not downright put off by quick claims like, “You know, God did that.”

Now, I started this whole reflection and blog process almost three years ago when diagnosed with what I was told was an inoperable condition at the base of my brain that was extremely serious and potentially quite deadly. Top neurologists and neurosurgeons could not explain whey this condition popped up but they agreed that I had a time bomb quietly ticking away smack in the middle of the most complex part of the most complex organ in the human body. Of course, within days or weeks, probably over a hundred people started praying fervently for healing … for a miracle, given that the scientists (gifted neurosurgeons) didn’t have a reasonable solution. As readers of these pages are aware, during that time, I was also close to others who suffered extreme physical challenges, the most tragic of which was when our prayer group leader who fell ill at the same time as I did, died within weeks, despite the prayers of hundreds of people. When my situation was resolved some months later without any reasonable explanation, I know that many people claimed (and still claim) that it was a miracle. That God had cured me. This rankles others for two main reasons. (1) If there truly is a loving God, why did he cure me and allow Shannon (and countless millions of other people over whom hundreds prayed) to die? etc…. And (2) just because doctors couldn’t figure out why it spontaneously healed, that doesn’t mean there was not a natural explanation … see above.

Full Disclosure: I do believe that God’s hand was in my healing (and very possibly in the hand of a woman I know who prayed over me and who said she immediately felt heat leaving my head). But, I also agree that my situation is not “proof” that miracles are real. No.

All of this brings me to a very fine point. As I like to do, I try to whittle away at a question to bring it into focus and to allay any ambiguity. In other words, pick your poison. Choose the most likely explanation.

The primary question, of course, is there such a thing as supernatural? I mean a state of reality that is fully outside of nature, whether that nature is currently observable or not? People who can collectively be termed Naturists or Atheists say no. There are many bright and good people who line up this way. I have respect for their thinking. If we accept my simple definition of a miracle, they would have to conclude that there is no such thing.

The following question, for those who believe in some supernatural reality is, does that reality have intention. In other words, can and does that reality intersect with our own, despite being outside of our own? Furthermore, does that reality intersect with purpose and cause things to occur that would otherwise be completely impossible? Most people line up here to some degree but that doesn’t inherently make them right.

Most people who know me, know that I was long a seeker, a searcher, trying to discover what is really true about the whole shebang. I questioned most things, both consciously and subconsciously. I was always about trying to learn more, see what I was missing, finding holes in popular truths. This obviously made me a “doubting Thomas” as one of Jesus’ disciples is remembered. “No way! Show me the proof!”

After all, I was a son of the Enlightenment, a world-shaping movement that was all about freeing the human mind from the shackles of myth. But, hey, I also had some concept of God, which is why I battled so hard for so many years. To me, the two worlds just didn’t line up. Far more often than not, God was on the losing end.

And, he might have lost if not for one thing.

That thing was the carburetor in the engine of my college friend Jack’s somewhat decrepit old Datsun car.

To be continued.