Center For Change
Orem, UT

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I Believe In Miracles

Dear Friends and Colleagues;

Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, Merry Christmas, and Happy Hanukkah! Please accept and embrace this heartfelt holiday message of highest hopes and sincere gratitude to you, and for you. You mean so very much to us.

This truly is a season of miracles! It's not that this is the only time of year in which miracles happen - but at this special time of year, individual hearts seem more receptive to them, more willing to seek after them, more willing and able to notice them, more able to appreciate them, and more willing themselves to become a miracle in the lives of others.

I want everyone associated with me to know that I believe in miracles. It's not that I think anyone else should believe in them, but I stand as one who believes in them. I suggest that believing in them is an opportunity available to all, and that belief in them brings many blessings.

Santa manages to continue to do his work despite grand scale skepticism. That seems miraculous. A special gift given to a young child brings the biggest smile ever. Isn't that a miracle? At Christmas time during World War I, in Flanders Field, enemies at war called a truce for Christmas Day, and instead of exchanging bullets and bloodshed, for one day and night, they exchanged chocolate, music, small gifts, good will, and loving kindness, all in the face of the next morning's sure resumption of the horrors of war. That was a miracle. Hanukkah reminds us that two thousand years ago, a desecrated temple in Jerusalem was re-taken by the Jews, re-dedicated for worship, and that the lamp oil, enough for one day - lasted for eight. That was a miracle. Christ was born in a small village to a saintly mother, under a cloak of divinity, and provided a teacher and a Savior. Wasn't that a miracle? In the Battle of the Bulge of World War II, a sniper's bullet missed my father's head by 2 inches, and clipped off the antenna of the unit radio he was carrying. He lived. That too, was a miracle. My wife and I found each other, fell in love, and after eight children, eighteen grandchildren, and 43 years, we remain with each other. Maybe that is a miracle. It seems miraculous to me. I have witnessed the live births of children. Who would defy that as a miracle? You and I have witnessed recovery from eating disorder illness, have seen the impact of forgiveness, the fruits of loving kindness, and the irrefutable influence of hard and competent work, and loving and compassionate work by thousands of employees, colleagues, and associates in the field. In the presence of miracles we have cried tears of sadness and grief, and we have cried tears of joy. Are not miracles found there? Yes, I know - my miracles might be a little different than your miracles, and my meanings different from yours, and even my beliefs about attribution. Still, and thankfully, miracles are real.

One great therapist and admired friend, Bobbi Carter, taught some of us well, when she asked some of our patients in 12 Step Group to watch out for miracles in their lives, write them down, and then come back and share them with their friends in group. Many non-believers in miracles found out that miracles do in fact exist - even in their lives! They learned this by being willing to look for them, notice them, enjoy them, and then share them through words with others.

We all can, and do, have miracles in our lives. Some, however, just don't know about this yet. It is our choice, and our opportunity, to notice them, to label them as miracles, to ascribe meaning to them, to assign attribution to them, and in short - to decide if they are, what they are, what they mean, where they come from, how to be grateful for them, and what to do with them. Sometimes we ascribe meaning to the miracles which come, and sometimes the meaning in them just finds us.

I have noticed that a grateful heart often precedes miracles. I have noticed that faith in miracles can precede a miracle. And I have also seen, that noticing, witnessing, and experiencing a miracle can bring with it an instantaneous and simultaneous experience of heartfelt gratitude.

I suggest that the best way to enjoy miracles in our lives is to refuse to sit around and wait for them. While we can surely hope for them, it doesn't help to passively wait for them. I have noticed that more miracles come while we are actively intending, engaging, and working to become a miracle in the life of another human being in need. And who are those individuals in need of miracles? Well, we all are. Miracles require a willingness to see and to believe. They happen in our lives without regard to our thoughts about them, our willingness to see them, and our choice to appreciate them. The experiencing of miracles requires a heart that is humble, open, and willing. It seems the more willing we are to see them - the more of them we experience.

I believe in miracles. I believe recovery from illness can often happen, and that recovery from poor attitude can always happen. I believe that faith and hope is the pathway.

Since love is a miracle, and since love brings many other miracles, I honor each one of you today. You are a miracle in the lives of those you honorably and lovingly serve. May God bless each one of you, your friends, family members, your patients and clients, and all whom you love and care for during this lovely and sacred season of peace and miracles. This is my highest hope.

Michael (Dr.B)

Center for Change is residential treatment center helping women and adolescent girls break free and fully recover from their eating disorders.