I was watching a show last night on OWN, Oprah's new network, called Miracle Detectives. I thought it was really interesting. The premise is that 2 people, one a believer and one a sceptic, go around the world investigating claimed miracles.
This particular episode was about miracles surrounding 9/11. The first story was one I had actually heard before about a group of 5 or 6 firefighters in stairwell B. They were headed up when the first tower collapsed and they knew they had to get out, so they turned around and started down. They came upon a woman named Josephine who physically couldn't walk down anymore stairs. She was basically just standing in the stairwell waiting to die. The fire-fighters couldn't leave her there so they pretty much dragged her down the stairs with them. They were still in the stairwell when the building started to come down. After the rubble settled... they were all still alive.
So was it a miracle? Later, they talked to a structural engineer who explained that had they been anywhere else in the building they would have perished. The specific structure of the building created a void in Stairwell B. There was an area of I think 10-15 floors they had to be on to survive. They were in that zone and they survived.
One of the firemen was asked... "Do you think God was with you that day?" He said he had a hard time believing God was there with him that day. Why wasn't he with the thousands that perished? Why was he chosen?
Another firefighter, John, had a story. John was in one of the buildings that collapsed and walked away with a few scratches and that's it. He said later, as he was walking over a bridge, I think it was the Brooklyn bridge but that's neither here nor there, he met a construction worker who said he was working on a roof in Brooklyn and saw both of the towers collapse. John told him he was in one of the towers and he survived and was lamenting the tragic casualties that day. The worker told him that God had a way of doing things and God made him survive for a reason and to go out and tell his story. The construction worker then walked off somewhere. When John got to the other side of the bridge he mentioned the worker to some officers wondering where he went. The officers didn't know what he was talking about. They said they saw John on the bridge and John was walking alone.
I'm sure there are many more miraculous experiences that day. Were those experiences just coincidence? Just a handful of lucky people to survive a great tragedy perpetrated by evil men? Or was it something more?
My opinion is this.... just because one person survived and one person didn't doesn't mean God was with one and not the other. Maybe God was with them both. Maybe God has a plan for each of us that we don't necessarily need to understand. Sometimes Logan will get mad at me for making him do something that he doesn't understand.... like keeping his seatbelt on in the car. His mind can't comprehend the fact that he's not safe if he's not wearing his seatbelt properly or not at all. Just as our minds might not be able to comprehend what God's plan for us is. Logan feels safe because he's with me and he doesn't understand yet that bad thing can and do happen. I have a plan for him that includes him not flying out of the windshield if we were to get in an accident. Do you get what I'm saying? :)
I'm not implying that God had anything to do with that terrible tragedy that day. That was the work of downright evil men. Plain and simple. However, I do think God was there that day. Just as He is with us all in our times of need. Do I think that God chose specific people to survive that day? I'm not sure. It's hard for me to understand how God could do that if we are indeed his children. Could you choose which of your children to save and which to die?
Anyway, enough of my rambling. What do you think? Do you believe in miracles?
