If you ever get the chance, catch the movie “Grand Canyon” – one of my favorites. Directed and produced by Lawrence Kasdan, the film is about six different residents of Los Angeles whose lives intertwine coincidentally, in ways that appear to be orchestrated by an invisible hand. This movie was recommended to me as a modern-day religious experience, which, after seeing, I must agree. Do the unexplained coincidences which happen to people represent today’s miracles? Are we overlooking these unique circumstances somehow as just luck or good fortune? I’ve always felt that to be a miracle, it must be extraordinary, like the parting of the red sea, but could today’s miracles be happening right in front of us, and we just aren’t recognizing them?
By definition, a miracle is something that occurs that is beyond natural explanation. An extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs; an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
I had such a circumstance happen to me and the utter coincidence of events that occurred generated an experience that still leaves me speechless. While on RAGBRAI this past summer (my annual bicycle trek across Iowa), after a brief stop in yet another small Iowa town for food and drink, I headed towards my bike to ride to the next location. When I reached into my back bike jersey pocket to grab my baggie that contained my driver’s license, a credit card, and about $40 – it was missing.
Did my baggie fall out of my back jersey pocket? I retraced my steps and did not see it lying on the ground anywhere. Did I leave it in the bar after I paid for my drink? I asked the bartender – nowhere to be found. I had several seasoned RAGBRAI riders reassure me that this type of thing- theft – does not happen on the ride and my items would be returned to me. I got the “believe in the goodness of people” lecture. I left the town on my bike, upset. It wasn’t that I had to replace my lost items, it was that I couldn’t rule out that they were stolen, that someone had reached into my jersey and lifted my items, and I felt sad about that.
That evening upon cycling into the host overnight town, I checked with the RAGBRAI lost and found – no items. My faith in mankind was slowly shrinking. I was becoming more and more certain that someone stole my ID and money.
The next night, upon rolling into town, I checked at the lost and found yet again. The day had been long – I rode 70-miles against a hot head wind, and I was exhausted. I had convinced myself my items would not be returned and I was right – nothing at the lost and found. My husband had ridden ahead earlier to our campsite to set up the tent and join our team, and so, after leaving the lost and found, I jumped back on my bike, totally let down with humanity, and tried to find our campsite. I was biking in the right general direction, but couldn’t find where our team was.
I lost it. I had no cell service to call anyone, I was hot and tired, and I had no ID or money. I stopped at an intersection and shed a few tears. A gentleman in a reflector vest who was directing traffic came over, and asked me if I was okay. I mentioned I was lost, and he assured me that the bus lot campground was just a 1/2 mile up the road. I managed a weak smile, and justified my frazzled state by announcing that I had a long day, I lost my ID and I had no cell service. We made a brief introduction and as it turns out, he was an ordained minister. As I turned to leave, he grabbed my hand and asked if he could pray for me. I figured I would take a prayer – it couldn’t hurt. I thought he would pray for me when he returned home in the evening, but no – he prayed right then and there. There we stood – a RAGBRAI volunteer who happened to be an ordained minister, and little old me, holding hands and praying in the middle of an intersection. He was belting his prayer out-loud in front of god and everyone, asking for my items to be returned to me – no judgments made, no questions asked. After the prayer, I said thanks, jumped on my bike and left. I had no illusions that the prayer would be answered, but I appreciated his sentiment and that made me feel a little bit better.
I finally made it back to the camp site, and to our bus. After my long day on the bike I was in desperate need of a shower, so my friend Keri and I decided to go get cleaned up. We headed to the park up the road to the public showers. They were getting ready to close for they day and we got the last shower time slot. With only three shower stalls available and one already in use, we were in luck. Two left open just for us. We just made it.
While in the shower, Keri asked me for some shampoo, saying my name in the process. All of the sudden, I hear someone say – “Robin? Are you by any chance Robin Martin?” I shouted yes and a woman shouted from the last shower stall – “I have your stuff!” I was absolutely dumbfounded. I happened to be in the same shower area with the woman who found my baggie with my ID! She found it laying on the ground outside of the bar we stopped at back in that little town a few days back. I was in a state of disbelief – jumping up and down and celebrating. When she invited me back to her campsite to retrieve my belongings, that’s when it got really weird – her bus was parked right next to ours.
What are the odds? I lose my items, run into an ordained minister who prays out-loud for a safe return, I grab the last shower of the day using the last shower stall available, and I end up next to the woman who found my stuff two days ago AND her campsite is right next to ours. There were close to 8,000 cyclists staying in this relatively small town, and I ended up saddling right next to the woman who found my possessions. Did this really just happen?
I felt saved, I felt vindicated – I felt so damn happy and so special. This was my miracle – if there is such a thing. It was as if the universe collaborated to have all these circumstances line up just right for me. What if we hadn’t of parked our bus in that exact spot? What if I did not go up and take a shower that night? And how odd that a volunteer, who happens to be an ordained minister, prays for the very same thing that happened a mere hour later?
I find profound meaning in what happened to me. Maybe the divine communicates by pushing the boundaries of what is probable. By shaking the fabric of my life, maybe it is just possible that “magic” happens – the energy in the universe comes together, the stars align, and all is right with the world. Granted, this was no parting of the red sea, but this event gives me pause and now I am paying attention. These random acts of kindness performed for me came together to create a masterful result – not only did I have my items returned to me – I found my faith in the human spirit restored. I cannot think of a better reason to call it a miracle.
Life Experiences Add Up 