Miracles

I was reading an article on ksl today. It was discussing a little girl in West Jordan, Sierra Newbold, and the capture of the man who raped and brutally murdered her. It was really quite a spectacular piece of police work, with not a small amount of luck, and, as the police chief so elegantly said, "I myself believe it is divine intervention."

To which, of course, people on the message boards responded without fail, "If it was divine intervention, than why didn't God intervene and prevent that stuff from happening to that girl in the first place?" Like the mindless drone of insects, it was repeated practically verbatim in every other post. If there is a God, he would never let bad things happen.

The story, in a nutshell, is this (I posted a link to the full article below, and give full credit to Pat Reavy and ksl.): Three days after Sierra's body was found, a young woman has her Jeep stolen. She reports it to the police, and also tells her boss about it. Later that day, her boss walks into a bank where she discovers her employee's stolen truck in the parking lot and the man who stole it inside robbing the bank. She confronts the man in the parking lot, and is able to capture a picture of him on her phone. West Jordan police respond to the scene. The detective who was investigating the murder of Sierra Newbold catches wind of these developments, and has a feeling that he should go to the scene of the crime. Upon arrest of the suspect for the bank robbery and car theft, the detective notices black soot on the knees of the man's pants. He remembers that the field in which Sierra Newbold's body was found had been burned a few days prior to her murder, and that her pajamas were covered in this same black soot. Going on this hunch, they run DNA and lo and behold, they have a match.

Luck? Divine intervention? Just plain old good police work? I feel that it is a combination of all of the above.

Of course, that is not the point of this blog post. I read this story and think, "Miracle." Miracle that this family could have some closure, miracle that this man is off the streets and will never harm another child again, miracle that all of the pieces fell into place and led to this man's arrest. Others see it and say, "No miracle here. The miracle would've been her not being raped and murdered in the first place."

And, you know, they are right. That is a miracle. Every six year old girl on the earth today who hasn't been kidnapped, raped, and murdered, is a miracle. Every day that passes that this little girl is allowed to continue her life, alive and unhurt, is a miracle. Every young woman who goes on a first date without getting assaulted is a miracle. Every child who is born into this world healthy and whole is a miracle. Every day the sun rises, every night the sun sets, every breath, every touch, every minute, is a miracle. How do I know this? How do I see these miracles? Because, this life isn't a given. It is because horrible things happen to good people, because people make mistakes, because some people are truly cruel and evil, that miracles happen. If no one ever got hurt, or killed, or maimed, if every pregnancy was uncomplicated and resulted in a healthy newborn who would live a full life without ever having to suffer, if everyone was guaranteed a life without pain, or heartache, or loss, without suffering, there would be no miracles.

My heart hurts for this family. It isn't fair what happened to them. I picture the last moments of this little girl's life and it makes me physically sick to my stomach. (Not that I haven't had a moment without being nauseated in the past month, but you know what I mean.) But, here are the consequences of that incident: An innocent little girl is in heaven, and never has to suffer another moment. A mother has lost a daughter. A sister has lost her best friend. A father feels the emptiness of his home. A man was captured, a man who may be responsible for other incidents such as this. These parents, who have lived without their child for years, have hope that they will find an answer, find some closure. A community is mourning. Who knows how many little girls were saved by this man's arrest. Every mother who reads this story holds her child closer. Some people installed home security systems, some people bought guns, or big dogs, to protect their family. Maybe as a result of that, a life is saved.

When you take away the bitter, you take away the sweet. The more the pendulum swings back into pain and despair, the further it can swing forward into happiness and joy. Nobody wants the bad things to happen, but without those negative experinces, there is no joy in life.

So, take a minute today to see the miracles. They are all around you. Enjoy the good moments. Because they won't last. They can't last. And that is what makes them so, so, sweet.

Here's a link to the article if you would like to read it:
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=21194209