Waiting for the Miracle

For all intents and purposes, the game was over. Behind and with no time left on the clock, the quarterback scrambled to avoid the eager defensemen. Although half a field away from the end zone, he planted his feet and sent the ball sailing into the air. The ball was tipped into the hands of one of his players who took it in for the score. The announcers went as crazy as the crowd. Soon the field was full of students, who I imagine are still drunk.

Of course, this was just the most recent example of an improbable ending, but it made me think of the old AA adage: “Don’t leave ‘till the miracle happens.” So often I think I know what the result will be. With time running out, I begin to pack my things and head to the car. Then, as I open the car door, I hear the roar of the crowd and know I’ve missed something special.

It makes me wonder how many improbable endings have been missed because we thought we knew how the game, or story, would end. How many jobs, marriages, investments, achievements were left too soon (or not even tried). How many athletes took off their uniform, actors walked off the stage, graduate students closed their books before seeing things through. Yes, logic, or the odds, would say the game’s over, but what if . . .?

I wonder what our lives would look like if we waited until the end. I wonder how different the endings might be if we stopped thinking we were in charge, that we knew how things would be. Instead of packing up our things, maybe we should plant our feet and heave a pass into the air trusting that a power greater than ourselves can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Maybe we’d be surprised. Maybe a miracle would happen.