In the midst of the myriad activities of daily life, some people react to forces that are beyond their control as if they were the very force itself. These folks dance to the rise and fall of rhythms they have always known without ever stopping to consider Who is really calling the tune. Other dances of cause and effect are seen as events beyond their control. By casting themselves as "masters of their own destiny" they manage to avoid facing some of the inescapable circumstances of life. These portrayals exude confidence and self-assuredness, walking with head held high and shoulders back . . .very much "in control". If there is discussion of matters over which they truly have no control, they will speak in terms of having triumphed over them . . . wrinkles become "character lines"; eating becomes "dining".

For example: Human beings are conceived through the union of male and female, carried more-or-less to term, and delivered by one of two methods. The clearly intended method is by Divine Design, while the other is accomplished through calculated violence. Parents have indirect involvement in conception, development, and delivery. Their actual participation is limited to the placement of elements already "made" and sustained by their Creator. Yet, how many parents, or potential parents, are willing to recognize these facts and make the conscious connection that should naturally follow. Their most direct participation begins following the child's delivery, with the care, nurturing, and "raising" of the child on his/her journey to maturity.

Yet, sadly, so many children are inconvenient to the modern lives of parents, and so the raising of their little bundle of joy is "outsourced" so they can get on with the business of living uninterrupted. Even though the event is sometimes referred to as the "miracle" of childbirth, most people are unwilling to see it as anything more than something to be congratulated as a rite of passage, even when that “miracle” is ever-so-gently-and-carefully presented into their arms. These folks might even refer to the arrival of a newborn as "a blessed event", but a “miracle?”. . . no. This is because conception and childbirth are more than just “within the realm of possibility“, having occurred some tens of billions of times since it was ordained long ago.

 There are MANY other processes, which must take place in order that both physical and mental development may occur, so that growth and maturity into adulthood will result. We claim to have some decision making power over at least some of these, but we may only defer them for a time. We may resist the others, giving the impression that we are in control by "choosing" to address these issues at our discretion. Among those "other processes" are;

-We must sleep roughly one-third of our lives to preserve our physical, mental, and emotional health.

-We must have the energy and sustenance that food provides to maintain our physical, mental, and emotional health.

 -We must eliminate waste periodically to be healthy and happy.

 -We must move our bodies to maintain our ability to continue to do so, otherwise our muscles atrophy and waste away.

 -We will grow old no matter how hard we may resist, whether we like it or not.

-Eventually we die.

From this viewpoint it is often difficult for us to see the forest through the trees. But, if we stop for just a moment and step back to catch a glimpse of the "bigger picture", we may be able to ignore, but can we continue to deny the evidence of the miraculous that touches what has become what seems to us as anything but miraculous "everyday life"? Put a seed into the earth, and with the simple addition of a little water and sunshine, it will bring forth fruit in due season. Accident?

Go to bed and close your eyes, and soon you will fall asleep. The next thing you know you will awaken to a new day (or your alarm clock; whichever comes first). Accident?

Cut your finger, break your arm, sprain your ankle, burn your thumb; a little time and a little attention will find your injury healed as good as new (NOT your Doctor, and NOT that purple capsule they claim “heals“ erosions in the esophagus . . . Medicines reduce or eliminate pathogens, and/or bring about the conditions under which the healing that GOD programmed into our bodies loooong ago can occur!). Accident?

There are forty-four muscles in the human face which, when moving in various combinations orchestrated by emotion and thought for the communication of thought or mood, create expressions that we have come to associate with the very thoughts and emotions the configuration of their movements convey. Accident?

The sun shines upon the ocean, causing the evaporation of waters, which gathers in what call clouds. The clouds are carried by the winds onto and over land where their moisture is released upon the earth in the form of rain. Rain and photosynthesis help plants, grasses, and trees to grow, which release oxygen into the atmosphere, which human beings must breathe in order to survive, while the resulting plants and fruits provide life-sustaining food which must be eaten by human beings in order to sustain life. Accident? Are all these events accidental? I think not . . . AND THE LIST GOES ON ! ! !

God is speaking more clearly through all these things than if He was shouting in our ears. Are some too proud to acknowledge Him? Which gift has any of us to be proud of that is really "of ourselves" and not the gift of the Creator? In light of these "accidents" many of the things we think of as everyday events take on the invisible glow of the MIRACULOUS . . .

Art Derby

*Congratulations to Art Derby for the first  Male Perspective article. It's a wonderful read.