Digital Only: Young Adults
Can We Really “Expect” Miracles?
Seeking miracles seemed futile when they didn’t seem to be coming.
I felt like I was drowning.
I was recovering from sinus surgery and was experiencing more complications than I had expected.
I had a fever, I couldn’t breathe through my nose, I couldn’t get my nose to stop bleeding, I was extremely dizzy, and the pain from the pressure in my head was almost unbearable.
I started panicking from the discomfort. This surgery was a new addition to my list of the worst experiences I had ever had.
Tears rolled down my face as I laid miserably on my couch.
That’s when my sweet husband, Jeffrey, came to sit by me. He handed me a tissue, took my hand, and asked, “What do you need?”
“A blessing,” I immediately answered.
Running Out of Patience
Throughout my life, I have sought for the miracles Heavenly Father can provide. As a child, I learned about miracle-filled stories like Moses parting the Red Sea or Nephi retrieving the brass plates or the Savior healing others from incurable ailments. I always believed that God could also give me miracles like these, no questions asked.
However, as I grow older, I tend to hyperfocus on and long for miracles like those in the scriptures. Miracles that are instantaneous, tangible, and massive.
Much to my chagrin sometimes, no matter how much I strive to keep my covenants and exercise faith, it seems these types of miracles are a rarity. When my expectations for life are unmet and I am running out of patience while waiting on the Lord, my once-blossoming faith in miracles starts to wither.
I was feeling this withering faith regarding expectations about life around the time of this surgery.
So, when Jeffrey laid his hands on my head to offer me a priesthood blessing, imagine my surprise when he said, “As our prophet has taught, ‘seek and expect miracles’1 in this healing process and in life.”
Tears filled my eyes when I heard those words. I was desperate to feel relief, and I had faith in priesthood blessings, so I was hoping that being told to “expect miracles” meant I would feel instantly better. But Heavenly Father wanted me to learn something more.
What Miracles Are We Missing?
I wasn’t healed immediately after that blessing.
However, in the minutes following, I felt peace, despite my pain. I pondered the words I had heard and started to recognize miracles I had already experienced since surgery.
I had felt strength beyond my own sustaining me through days of discomfort. I believed in my heart that the Savior understood the pain I was in (see Alma 7:11:), which deepened my gratitude for Him.
Another miracle was God’s power of the priesthood, my ability to call on Him for help, and Jeffrey’s ability to exercise that priesthood.
I also realized I had witnessed miracles of light as family and friends had reached out with love. A few even traveled far distances just to bring me a loaf of bread, a book, or a handwritten note (three of my favorite things).
This got me thinking—what miracles do I miss every day when I am too fixated on the Red Sea–sized miracles I long for?
Then, the woman with the issue of blood suddenly came to mind (see Luke 8:43–48). Her story has always been a favorite of mine, but this time it hit me differently.
This woman was healed the instant she touched the Savior’s clothes, but for me, the most significant part of her story is her faith and her expectation of the miracle that He could provide. She fully expected a miracle and focused her faith on the Savior.
I like to believe that even before she had touched His clothes, she had always held on to her faith in the Messiah. I hope she noticed and focused on the miracles of goodness and light that faith in Him brought into her daily life, despite her suffering.
That is the kind of faith I am striving to have.
I’ve realized that instead of waiting for earth-shattering miracles, I can seek and especially expect the small and simple miracles He and Heavenly Father shower me with daily—which are actually the big miracles (see Alma 37:6).
We Can Always Expect Miracles
Each day of recovery after that blessing, I made a note of small miracles I experienced, from eased pain to waning dizziness to gratitude for my Savior. This made such a difference in my healing process and in my everyday faith.
Although I may always face health (and other) challenges that make life more tedious at times, my testimony continues to be refined as I look and reach for the Savior’s steady, reassuring hand each day. I have felt a new sense of determination to keep believing in, seeking, and expecting miracles, both big and small, trusting in His and Heavenly Father’s timing and way.
President Russell M. Nelson has invited us to seek and expect miracles:
“Moroni assured us that ‘God has not ceased to be a God of miracles’ [Mormon 9:15] …
“The Lord will bless you with miracles if you believe in Him, ‘doubting nothing’ [Mormon 9:21]. Do the spiritual work to seek miracles. Prayerfully ask God to help you exercise that kind of faith. I promise that you can experience for yourself that Jesus Christ ‘giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength’ [Isaiah 40:29].”2
Because of our Savior Jesus Christ and our loving Heavenly Father, we absolutely can and should always expect miracles as we seek Them.
Whatever you’re facing, I hope this truth gives you the same peaceful reassurance it continues to give me.