In the novel The
Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon, two young girls, Grace and
Tilly, hear in church that God is everywhere, so they decide to look for him in
their neighbor-hood. They find a creosote stain on a drain pipe that looks like
the face of Jesus, and after reporting this finding to their parents, word
spreads and everyone decides it is a miracle. People bring lawn
chairs and blankets so they can sit in the presence of Jesus. Soon they are
sharing food and stories and playing canasta, and a strong community emerges.
This story reminded me that many of us still consider it a
miracle to see the face of Jesus in the world around us. Later in the book, when
Grace begins to doubt that it really was Jesus they were seeing, Tilly replies,
“Jesus is definitely in the drainpipe. He always has been.” Grace said, “How do
you mean?” Tilly responded, “God is everywhere, Grace. Everyone knows that.”
Perhaps instead of praying for the miracle of having Christ appear
to us, we should pray for a non-miraculous life in which seeing Jesus isn’t an
extraordinary event but is something that happens to us every day!
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