Minor Miracles

The scriptures are full of major miracles. The Red Sea parting for the Israelites, an angel appearing to Alma the Younger, Christ raising Lazarus from the dead. These were big events in which life and death — physical or spiritual — hung in the balance. But these are rare. Most of us don’t experience them for ourselves. What most of us get to experience is what I call minor miracles.

Most of the moments in our lives are small and the miracles that accompany them are small to match. To give you sense of what I mean, let me tell you a story that happened to me last summer.

I was staying with my in-laws for a week in Driggs, Idaho, as I did research on the Teton Dam Flood, which I am writing a book about. Throughout the week, I would commute from Driggs to Rexburg, Idaho, every day to access the documents and resources that are stored in the Teton Flood Museum, and at Brigham Young University-Idaho’s library. I had a key to our rented condo so that I could lock it when I left or unlock it when I arrived if I happened to be coming or going at a different time from my in-laws.

On Thursday, I was the last to leave for the day and I locked the door behind me. I went to the Flood Museum and finished up all of my week’s work there. By the time I arrived at the condo, my in-laws were already there, and the door was unlocked.

The next day, Friday, was the day for us to check out, but I couldn’t find my key anywhere. I looked in my car, in my clothes, in my room, and it was nowhere to be found. I was getting frustrated because I had planned to spend the whole day — my last day of research — at the library, and my search for the key was eating away at that precious time. Finally, I decided to forget about the key and I told my in-laws that I would pay any fee that the owners decided to impose for its loss.

But my sister-in-law, who had recently returned home from a mission, suggested that I say a prayer to find the key. I privately rolled my eyes. The key mattered very little to me, so it probably wouldn’t matter to God. But as I climbed into my car to make my last commute into Rexburg, I felt a spiritual chastisement. While I was a missionary I liked to say that praying is never a bad idea, so why would it be a bad idea now?

I said a quick prayer, asking that if it be God’s will for me to find this key, I would find it, but if not, I would totally understand. And no hard feelings. Then I pulled out of the driveway and drove off.

On the way, I got the idea to take a detour to explore a section of the damsite that I hadn’t visited yet, and I followed that prompting. After I was done and finally arrived in Rexburg, the museum was just opening (the museum opens later than the library), and I got the idea to swing by one last time to thank the staff and to drop off a tape recorder that I had used for my research, but would have no use for at home.

I pulled into the parking lot, climbed out of the car, and shut the door. Just then I saw something on the ground that stopped me in my tracks. Lying right at my feet was a shiney, metal, nondescript key. The same key I had prayed about only a few hours earlier and that — if I’m honest — I never expected to see again. Finding that key was like getting a tap on the shoulder from God. “Don’t forget,” he seemed to be saying, “nothing is impossible for me. If I’ll watch out for you in this almost meaningless thing, I’ll watch out for you in the important things too.”

Some might not see a miracle in my story. No natural laws were broken, there was no obvious show of divine intervention, my life — physical or spiritual — didn’t hang in the balance. But I know that I was inspired to take that detour and to go back to the museum, inspiration that I wouldn’t have received had I not offered that prayer.

I thought of this experience as I read C. S. Lewis’s book Miracles. Lewis writes, “There is no question whether an event has happened because of your prayer. When the event you prayed for occurs your prayer has always contributed to it.” He also says that “all events without exception are answers to prayer in the sense that whether they are grantings or refusals the prayers of all concerned and their needs have all been taken into account.”

Looking at it this way, everything is a miracle. Most of these miracles may be minor, but they are no less miracles than the major ones. And they indicate no less clearly that God is there and is watching out for us...even in something as small as finding a key.