#ElevatedFriday, October 20th, 2017

We're all busy; we all have career and life goals; we all have daily responsibilities and routines. We even slip into routines with God, where our prayers become rehearsed and sometimes obligatory, and we just float through the motions day by day. Then every once in a while, something jolts us out of that routine and we find ourselves in a place where we are praying fervently for a miracle. That jolt happened to a member of the Richmond, VA community a month ago. Chris Camden is a triathlete in tip-top physical shape, but at the very end of a recent triathlon, he suddenly fell into cardiac arrest. Amazingly, his wife is a physician and was able to sustain him until he was rushed to the hospital. He had no heart beat for eight minutes. The doctors found a 90% blockage in his heart during surgery, but he was able to pull through. However after coming home to rest days later, he fell again into cardiac arrest but was once again saved by his wife until paramedics could arrive. Thankfully and prayerfully, he is now resting comfortably at home, giving thanks everyday to God who worked a miracle in his life -- twice.

Miracles like this are amazing, and cause even the doubters pause to wonder, "Could God really be who He says He is?" But for most of us, we will never experience a miracle like the ones we see on TV or in the movies. That does not mean we do not experience miracles though. In Ephesians, it says that through Jesus' power within us, we are able to do "immeasurably more than we ask or imagine." While we may think of curing sickness and raising life back from the dead as "miracles," so also is living life with a devoted spouse, being blessed with skill and meaningful work, having the means with which to bless others in life, and even just each new day God gives us as a new opportunity to serve Him. When we begin to think that miracles aren't real just because we haven't received a Hollywood screenplay-worthy experience, remember this: Never allow the perceived absence of big and sudden miracles in your life to overshadow the small and slow miracles that God works for you everyday. Today, thank God for the incredible series of events, that can only be described as miraculous, that have led you to where you are today, who is with you there, and the next step He has for you.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." -- Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV