Make Miracles in Forty Days by Melody Beattie

Author:Melody Beattie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks

Make Miracles for Almost Every Situation

I read over the forms people had filled out, a little taken back by the miracles people wanted. They weren’t seeking fame or fortune or the parting of the Red Sea—although what they hadn’t been able to create on their own seemed to them to be as unattainable as any of those things. When answering the question about if they had a magic wand they could wave over their lives that would instantly create what they desired, what would that be, most people wanted to accept, believe in, and have confidence in who and what they are. People wanted to either magically dispose of limiting character defects or accept themselves as they are. The miracle that people chased and desired? Self-love.

Some needed guidance that they’d been seeking and praying about for years, such as whether to leave or stay in a marriage. Others wanted to be more financially responsible. Some wanted both. Some people had phobias—fear, agoraphobia, crippling anxiety in some cases. Many people wanted to be thinner. Some had eating disorders. I felt deeply concerned about one woman who looked frighteningly gaunt yet had become obsessed with losing weight.

One evening I told her I wanted to talk privately. My boundary is to have people make a contract not to harm themselves before I’ll work with them. But in the workshop, I wasn’t there in the capacity of therapist. I was there as a writer. However, I still felt deeply concerned about her.

I asked some questions and learned she made herself vomit every time she ate. We talked a while longer. “Will you commit to not throwing up during the course of the class?” I asked. She looked at me like I had asked her to write me a check for a million dollars.

“No,” she said. “I won’t.”

I appreciated her honesty yet didn’t understand that the true answer was, “I’m powerless and I can’t.” I made a decision to let her attend class even though she was engaging in a life-threatening behavior. She was receiving regular professional help. Sometimes we need to make snap judgment calls. I liked her. By then I felt this unusual bond with almost everyone in the class.

The two hours flew by each week and soon the workshop ended. We had a get-together at Tiffany’s house for an extra seventh class that we all agreed we wanted. There wasn’t enough time in class for each member to talk about his or her experience. I wanted to debrief and find out who received a miracle and who didn’t. Other than the one man who left after the first class, another person who reported to receive a miracle that I didn’t see, and the woman with the eating disorder, everyone reported and appeared to have received their money’s worth of miracles. They looked changed.

People became clear on decisions they’d been struggling with for years.

Some saw what they needed to do and finally felt empowered to do it.

Some felt a miracle coming. Change had begun.

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