Monday, January 19, 2009

Are you ready for a miracle?

Want an uplifting post for Martin Luther King Jr. day, and in getting ready for our inauguration day? Melissa Lacewell-Harris got me feeling warm and fuzzy with a recent post at The Kitchen Table.

I haven't stopped shaking with relief and joy about the USAir flight that landed in the Hudson. I was flying from New Orleans to Minnesota when it happened. My friends and family know that I am on an 17 day, 8 city trip, so when I got to Minneapolis I had a dozen voicemails asking me to call and confirm I was safe. These loving calls reminded me to say a quick prayer of thanks. I get complacent when I travel and sometimes forget to offer gratitude for each safe landing. After a quick prayer I rushed to a CNN monitor expecting to see grief and carnage. Instead, I saw a miracle. All the passengers were safe: fathers, children, grandmothers, fight attendants, pilots. Everyone was safe. The pilot did not crash his plane, he landed it...on the Hudson River!

There are miracles all around us.

Hamas and Israel have laid down their weapons. It may not last forever, but the Mideast cease fire is a miracle this morning. Tomorrow I will board another plane bound for Washington, DC where I will witness the inauguration of America's first black president. It may not change everything, but the election of Barack Obama is a miracle this morning. In New Orleans I met young and old people of all races who are determined to save a city they call home. I stood in that city just 6 weeks after Katrina and I can tell you that the spirit of New Orleans is a miracle this morning. Yolanda, I have even lost 5 pounds since the start of the New Year. Miracles abound!