I teach a Bible Study class and a 6th Grade CCE (Sunday School) class at my church. I also teach some adult education and confirmation classes. We, of course, marvel at the miracles wrought by God in the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) and the miracles performed by Jesus in the New Testament. Sometimes we are tempted to say *Where are the miracles today?* God hasn*t divided the Red Sea lately nor has there been a man with the power of healing with a mere touch * or even without a touch (c.f. the Miracles of the healing of the Centurion*s servant* Luke 7,1-10 and Matthew 8, 5). And, He doesn*t seem to intervene to keep mankind from starting wars or committing other sins. He guides us and hopes that we do the right thing; but the choice is ours * *Free Will* we call it.

So, then, where are the miracles of God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit today? I say, *They are here if we will only see*. The Biblical, "Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not." Jeremiah 5, 21 is relevant. Or, colloquially, *There are none so blind as those who will not see*. (Used in several works of English literature, including Jonathan Swift*s *Polite Conversation* and often quoted in essays and articles.)

Take a flower, for example. Suppose you had every tool available * the most sophisticated computers * the best software * all of the chemicals, elements, machines, testing equipments, etc. that you want. Suppose you had everything except a seed. (You cannot have a seed because that is God*s mechanism for the creation of flowers, plants, and trees). Could you, then, make a flower? No, it would take a miracle.

Do you remember what George Burns portraying a street-wise God with a sense of humor in the movie Oh, God said when His power was challenged by the character played by John Denver * *Did you ever try to make a Barracuda?*

Yet, to the dismay of religious people and their Priests, Rabbis, Imams, Ministers, and other spiritual leaders, many people just don*t seem to believe or even notice the miracles all around them occurring all of the time. Are there such things as *minor miracles*? How can a miracle ever be called *minor*?

Let me tell you the true story of just one miracle that I witnessed just last month. Are you ready?

My wife*s brother passed away last year. She had spent over a year going though his house that was full of many, many years worth of collections of everything from Civil War artifacts to old newspapers and electric bills. He was a true *Renaissance Man*, interested in everything. And he collected and kept everything. He never threw anything away. Also, there was the furniture to be dealt with.

So, she arranged an *estate sale* (also known as a *big garage sale*) to be conducted from her brother*s house. There were and are many memories in that old house for her. It was her mother and father*s home and the home where she and her two brothers were raised. It was the home where her brother, a bachelor, lived alone after she and her brother married and moved out and their mother and father passed away. My wife lived in that home for 27 years.

Tears were shed as she saw items that belonged to her mother, her father, her, and her two brothers go out the door. Her solace was in the hopes that they would find good homes with owners who would truly appreciate them. Of special significance to her was the bed that her brother, Frank, whom she called *Frankie,* had slept in. It was not a fancy or expensive bed and the frame was very dusty since her brother was not much of a housekeeper.

It was a Saturday afternoon last month that seven year old Gloria, her mother, and one of her brothers were traveling down Cavalcade Street in North Houston toward a nearby Whatabuger when they spotted a sign advertising an *estate sale*. They are a family that does not have much money to spend. Gloria did not even have a bed of her own to sleep on.

Something drew them to turn off of Cavalcade and stop at the sale. They entered the house through the *normal* back door entrance and wandered to the right side of the house into what had been Frankie*s bedroom.

Gloria, the seven year old girl who had not had a bed of her own to sleep in, literally * and I do mean literally * threw her little arms as far as they would reach around that bed and laid her head on it. She hugged it. She loved it. She had to have it. I felt that somehow the bed wanted her, too.

There was no question that some of the money allotted for hamburgers, fish sandwiches, fries, and drinks was destined to be spent here. There was also no question that the price for the bed was going to come down * way down. An image of the apparition of *Our Lady of Guadalupe* hung on the wall in a nearby room. It was given to the little girl to hang on her wall to guard over her.

The bed was loaded into their vehicle and a promise was made that my wife could come to their house to see the bed in its new home. An address and phone number were given.

My wife*s family has always been very religious. Her brother went to Mass faithfully. I believe that this was a miracle of the Holy Spirit. It was no accident that this family with the little girl with no bed of her own was in this place at this time and that they were drawn to that house and that my wife was praying in that house that Frankie*s bed would find a good home where it would be taken care of and appreciated. What do you think?

Oh * and the little girl has two brothers. The one at home, well, his name is *Frankie*. And, oh yes, when my wife*s brother *Frankie* was found dead, he had just been to Whataburger and the sack with a fish sandwich and fries inside was lying next to him.

Such are the events of just one of a multitude of miracles performed by God in the City of Houston and the County of Harris in the month of June and in the year of our Lord two thousand and seven.