Kittens and Coke Zero. . . Miracles?

During the prayer requests and praise reports section of the church service, an elderly lady stood from her pew and professed how she had seen God's work in her life during the week. The story was long winded, but as it turns out, she's a cat lady. Her and her husband, having no children living in the house anymore, have taken to the company of cats. Well, one of her cats (or two, or three. . . I may have drifted off) died recently, leaving her and her husband quite sad, maybe even devastated. 

She prefaced this story with a disclaimer: "I know in the scope of all the troubles in the world, this doesn't rate very high, but it was big to us." Oh great, I thought. Here we go. . . 

Since all of their cats were getting older, they decided that when the cats died, they would not invest (emotionally, financially, spiritually) in raising new ones. Shortly after the most recent cat passed away, they discovered a "perfect kitten," just outside their door. After taking all of the precautionary steps to ensure that it was not a lost kitten belonging to some befuddled owner, they decided it was a gift from God. He acted at just the right time and granted them this perfect animal (no really--its hair, personality, coloring, all perfect). 

This story angered me a little bit. And I'm not sure why. But I found myself becoming defensive of a God I was certain did not act this way. What she was describing sounded like a miracle. A perfect kitten with no previous owners, presented from the divine? CS Lewis explains that miracles occur when God intervenes in life to cause something unexplainable to happen. Very rarely, due miracles occur. I agree, in that we deem too many things miracles. Just because we cannot explain how or why something occurs does not mean God is working a miracle. 

In the grand scheme of things, it seems goofy for God to work a miracle by giving an old lady a kitten. Assuming that He did indeed give her a kitten; I wonder if she'd think it was from God if it's unexplainable appearance was suddenly explained by a 6 year old girl turning up, looking for her lost kitty. 

Well, maybe it's not from God then; then again, maybe it is. 

Who am I to say? I was offended by her seeming understanding of how God works, but why? Because she thinks he works in different ways than I think he does. Regardless, I'm just as wrong.

On the plane ride back, I bought a Coke Zero in Atlanta. After taking several gulps I stowed it into the side pocket of my bag as they called us to board the plane. Having awkwardly scooted to my window seat, I lazily dropped my bag and kicked it under the seat. 30 seconds later, of course, I was ready for another drink. Pulling up my bag I discovered that the side of the bottle was wet. So was the side pocket, and so was the carpet under the seat in front of me. I almost laughed out loud; it was a miracle! Had I not been thirsty at that very moment, I may have allowed my delicious Coke Zero to seep through my side pocket and permeate the fibers of the carpet. After saturating the carpet and underlying material thoroughly, mold and mildew would have set in and in a few weeks, it could have eroded the floor of the plane, maybe even in mid flight at 30,000 feet, resulting in a tragic and catastrophic crash. After this disaster, of course, we would only be able to bring 3 oz sodas on the plane, and they'd have to be in a quart sized plastic bag. 

Excuse my sarcastic hyperbole. What's the difference between the cat lady discovering a brand new kitten on her doorstep and me discovering that my Coke Zero had a leak in it before it leaked too much? They both benefited the individual, and seemed to come at unexplainable or coincidental time. Why can hers be from God and mine can't? Or can it? 

After further consideration of my own thoughts and YOURS, I'd like to post a response in a sort of part two to this blog. Even if you don't have an account with Blogger, you can comment, just leave your name if you please. 

And now, please, what do you think?