Miracles

I've been reading Charlotte's Web to my third graders over the last couple of weeks. It is one of my favorite all time books. On the surface, it's a story about a spider and a pig, but deeper, it's a story of profound love and friendship.

At one point in the book, there is a conversation between two human characters in which they are discussing the miracle of the webs Charlotte spins with phrases like "Some Pig" and "Terrific" in an effort to save her friend from being slaughtered in the winter. One of the characters says that a spider's web is a miracle even without the words.

I posed a similar question to my class friends.

About half the class felt that any web was a miracle. They backed their opinions with evidence such as "Nothing else can make a web."  They finished their argument with that anything that something does without having to be taught is a miracle.

The other half was just as adamant in that a simple spider's web did not even come close to a miracle. Robbie said that if  a web was a miracle then so was peeing because a spider can "just do it." A couple more added that we're not taught to breathe or blink, are either of those miracles?

We spent the next few moments talking about miracles. Joe even looked it up in the Intermediate Dictionary.

David raised his chubby hand and scrunched up his face, as is his habit, and said haltingly that he thought he had actually experienced a miracle.

( David is an 8 year old going on 40. He brings Funyons for a "healthy snack", would rather play video games than kickball, takes medicine twice a day for attention issues. He also takes his backpack to the office each Friday for enough food to carry his family through the weekend. He is physically as slow as molasses, and he has all of the outward signs of a kid at risk for failing. In other words, David's got more issues than an 8 year old should have. But there is something about David. Something that is real and honest and wise. You just have to look beyond the left over chocolate around his mouth and try not to interrupt his sometimes lengthy thought process.)

Back to the miracle. . .

I asked David to share. He said that one time when he was at Six Flags there was a ride that he really wanted to go on but "you had to be tall to get on it." So, he prayed that God would let him be tall enough and it turned out he was! In David fashion he ended with, "So there. . . a miracle!" The rest of the group seemed to be okay with David's example and began their own litany of witnessed miracles, but their beloved teacher was not ready to let go of David's miracle.

"David, do you really think that was a miracle?"

"Yes, because the year before I wasn't tall enough to ride it, but God made a miracle and I was tall."

"David, do you think that maybe you just grew over the year and that's what made you tall enough for the ride?"

"I do." With a huge smile he said, "See. A miracle."

"Yes, David, I do see. It was a miracle."

Thank you, God, for the miracle of David, the wise mentor of this 48 year old teacher, who reminded me that every good gift is a miracle, that just because we've come to expect it, doesn't make it any less of a miracle.