My husband and I ran into one of our favorite coffee shops last week, desperate for a caffeine fix. I expected to leave with a vanilla cold press in hand; I did not expect to be reminded that God does miracles in His time, in His space.

I really did not expect to find this reminder on a package of K-Cups.

I super did not expect this illustration to come from a play in a football game.

While we were waiting for our drinks to be made, I spied a package of Skol Vikings blend K-Cups. We live in Minnesota, so the Vikings are our hometown football team, and a coffee shop chain created the special blend in their honor. We’re not obsessed with football, but we watch games each week and our seven-year-old son currently loves the game — loves it. So maybe we’re becoming football people? Anyway, I thought it would be fun to bring home this football coffee. We bought it, along with our cold press, and headed back to the car to complete the circle of school/work/home drop-off.

And right there in the passenger seat of our minivan, I read the description on the side of the box.

Just like a good cup of coffee, the Vikings have a special way of bringing us Minnesotans together. As we cheer on the team to rock ’em, sock ’em, and fight fight fight each week, we learn that when us Northerners come together as one, there’s not much we can’t accomplish. (And that ten seconds is plenty of time for a miracle.)

That last sentence, squished in between a set of parentheses, stopped me right in my tracks.

Last year during a game — the final ten seconds of the game, to be exact — Minnesota Vikings player Stefon Diggs caught a twenty-seven yard pass and ran it to the end zone for a touchdown as the clock ran out. The announcer went absolutely wild (as did the stadium), and as he announced it, he excitedly said it was “a Minneapolis miracle.” The title and clip of the play went viral — you can see the “miraculous” play here. Like I said, I’m not a huge football person, but even I remember this game. Mostly because my husband hollered so loud that our football-loving son got out of bed and came downstairs, and then we let him stay up and watch the replay (because we’re quality parents).

Ten seconds is all it took for this play to make record books, to get millions of hits on the internet, to be called a miracle, to change history for a few folks.

And isn’t that so reminiscent of the true miracles of God?

How long did it take for Jesus to do His special kind of multiplication with a few loaves and some fish? How about when He swapped water for wine? With crowds gathered in both of those locations, both of them hungry and thirsty, I can’t imagine that He took His time making these miracles happen. People were waiting.

Sometimes God keeps us waiting. Other times, all He needs is ten seconds.

I’m not actually comparing the “Minneapolis miracle” to those listed in Scripture. But it did remind me to take pause and remember how many times the miracles in my life have taken very little time. When my car stops just in time to avoid being hit by the oncoming car. When I catch my toddlers’ hand just before the van door closes on it. When the diagnosis comes in and they say it was in the nick of time. When the phone call is made minutes before the decision comes through, and the conversation changes the final decision. You know what I mean? How many times have we cut it too close for comfort or whispered, “Oh, thank God”?

And that’s just the protection kind of miracles.

When I raise my eyes from this computer, I see three children that are absolutely miraculous in their own right — not to mention the years of infertility and miscarriage that came alongside them. Even besides that, children (all people, really) are miracles. So very many things have to happen correctly in order to fully develop a human being. All neurons firing, bodies forming, hearts beating. Each person is a miracle, right there in plain sight.

The blue sky. The budding trees. The wonder of snowflakes, each one entirely unique. The music pouring from my speakers, the artists gifted with both word and voice. The transformation coffee goes through as the beans are ground and brewed. The way ingredients come together, changing from eggs and flour into warm cookies. Holding a loved one’s hand. The wings of a hummingbird. More plain sight miracles, beckoning to be seen.

So today, I raise my mug of Skol blend to you. Here’s to the ten-second miracles all around us. May we see them for ourselves. May we be them for another.

 

Sometimes God keeps us waiting. Other times, all He needs is ten seconds. #miracles -@annaerendell: Click To Tweet Leave a Comment