The Miracle In The Mess

Albert Einstein once said that “there are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

Last month, my family experienced a miracle, and the thing about miracles is that they emerge from a mess. The bigger the mess, the bigger the miracle.

If you’ve ever read Luke 1:26-31, in the Bible, or ever heard the Nativity story at Christmas time, you will remember that Mary, Jesus’ mother, was called “highly favored.” Of course, she had to experience relationship issues, financial issues, and even persecution to get her miracle.

Because there is opposition in all things, we focus on the mess and we miss the miracle. And I almost did, because I gave up.

I booked a flight to the Dominican Republic with Little Pige. I was growing desperate and sad. I hadn’t seen my dad for almost four years, and Eliana didn’t know her grandpa. I didn’t want to cry myself to sleep or deal with the giant hole in my heart any longer.

I felt guilty that I would travel without Elisha and Elyssa, but I didn’t see how it could be possible for us to ever go back together as a family. After many failed attempts, and spending ridiculous amounts of money, all I heard was “you need both “parents'” signatures!” I grew frustrated and became hopeless.

I was supposed to travel on July 9th, but things at home were not ideal, so I felt it was best to cancel the trip, and rescheduled for August 9th, since I wanted Pige and me to travel before she turned two, and my dad’s birthday is on the 10th. In the midst of my disappointment and borderline depression, I also experienced a nasty betrayal and extremely hard judgment from someone “close” to me. Then, out of the blue, I received a call from a process server about a lawsuit, too. What in the world was happening?!

I decided to walk by faith and not by sight. I decided that some miracle would emerge from all this mess, and I put my entire confidence in God’s plan for me, even if I didn’t have a single clue of what all this had to do with it. Sometimes I feel I’m no different than my 2-year-old… throwing tantrums and growing impatient because I want things my way. I haven’t been 2 in a while, so it was time to take control of my life… whatever that meant.

Immediately after adopting this attitude, I started getting glimpses of a miracle. Taylor Bare and I prayed about applying for a passport “one more time,” and what came next was a rollercoaster of signs that we needed to. No one gave me much hope, but I knew if it was God’s will, it could happen… I made the conscious choice to act as if it really would, and I summoned the courage to walk the path I knew was right, even when others declared it was impossible.

You see, God gives us opportunities for a miracle, but we need to first believe in them, and take the steps. Where there is prayer there are answers, where there is faith there are miracles. How many prayers, how much faith, for how long? I don’t know… yet I decided to hang on and see. I paid extra fees, filled out extra forms (ones that didn’t even exist the other times I applied), went to the Courthouse, hired a lawyer, and, most importantly, I was unattached to the outcome, while believing it could happen.

John Burroughs, the Naturalist, once said, “My own shall come to me.” I like that because what we send out is what comes back. It’s an immutable law. I’ve put it to the test many times (not as many as I could) and I invite you to try it out, to let your mess be the birthplace of your miracle. Instead of hating on the passport office, worrying about the $35,000 bill I’d just received, or seeking revenge on that hurtful person, I chose to bless the good in my life, trusting that more good was to come.

The way to unleash the power of miracles in your life, is what Dr. Norman Vincent Peale calls “The Miracle Principle.” It’s a simple and proven technique to attract miracles (whether you want a money miracle, a relationship miracle, a family miracle, a health miracle, or any miracle for yourself). It’s one of the most wonderful principles known to man and woman, and it’s contained in these six little words:

“Expect A Miracle – Make Miracles Happen”

And so, on August 3rd, less than a week before we were scheduled to go on our trip, the expected miracle happened: we received the girls’ passports in the mail. It was a miracle!

Miracle: wonder, marvel, phenomenon, mystery. A highly improbable or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment that brings very welcome consequences.

Just 30 days before, I was sinking in the pit of despair, and now I was giving thanks! We cried, we jumped with joy, we hugged, we prayed, and we praised. Oh… and we kept it a secret, too!

My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. ~ Psalm 62:5 KJV

It was the surprise of the century. We ended up buying a ticket for Taylor, too, so we all went as a family. We went from expecting a miracle, to experiencing a miracle.

Can that happen to you?

Yes, ma’am. Miracles do exist, life is full of miracles, you are one! We often don’t see them or fail to recognize them because we’re too busy feeling sorry for ourselves.

Allow your faith to rise above all doubt. When you have a deep conviction that you will receive great things, you do!

I’ll be sharing more about my trip to the Dominican Republic, but for now, let me just tell you, it exceeded my wildest dreams. And all the messes and stresses melted and dissipated, and even the lawsuit was dropped.

Like Mary experienced, being highly favored looks a lot differently than most people would think. It requires seeing the miracle in the mess and hanging on until it’s manifested.

Someone once said, “the miracle is not to walk on water, fly in the air, but to walk on earth.” What miracles are you grateful for?

Founder of the Positive MOM® and creator of the S.T.O.R.Y. System: a blueprint to craft and share powerful stories that will transform your results and help others do the same. Dr. Elayna Fernández is a single mom of 4, an award-winning Storyteller, Story Strategist, and Student of Pain. She’s a bestselling author, internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, and 5x TEDx speaker. She has spoken at the United Nations, received the President’s Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award, and was selected as one of the Top Impactful Leaders and a Woman of Influence by SUCCESS Magazine. Connect with Elayna at thepositivemom.com/ef and follow @thepositivemom. To receive a gift from Elayna, click HERE.

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