Maybe you've been glued to the footage of the rescue of the miners in Chile like I have - maybe not. In any case, I was struck by so many things by this story. When I review books I learn to analyze them for the motivation of characters, the plot, and other factors. I tend to do it automatically now.
When I look at this situation I was amazed at the way 33 men survived those 17 days with that tiny amount of tuna fish and milk physically - but maybe even more importantly - how did they manage to hold out hope that anyone would even believe they were alive after that long when they had no way to contact anyone? How did they stop from fighting one another and band together for survival? How did they manage to escape serious physical harm in the cave in itself? One of them is diabetic; how did he manage so long without insulin and an obviously bad diet? I think these are all miracles.
Then there is the rescue itself. They expected to reach them at Christmas. Instead they are being rescued in the middle of October. Isn't that a miracle? There are a host of people who have come to the aid of Chile in this attempt and the Chilean government has been very gracious to the media in the coverage of the rescue. That isn't always the case - especially since there are already legal issues regarding the incident. So the spirit of cooperation and goodwill could be seen as a miracle as well. If not, at least it shows what can be accomplished when we all work together instead of bickering.
I hear about the organization the miners set up while they were underground and how they kept themselves healthy, busy, clean and feeling part of a community. They sent up letters that were shared and each one I've heard talks about how they believe God has used this to make them better and they want to change and spend more time with family or how they are thankful to God for taking care of them and their family and fellow miners. These are not bitter or resentful men. When I watched the first two men emerge I saw strong, healthy, joyful men. They loved their country, their rescuers and their family. They wanted to share that joy. I think that's a miracle as well. It easily could have made them angry, sick, crazy, weak, or a great many other things.
There is no doubt that this started off as a tragedy. These men have gone through a terrible experience. However I think God has used it for good in many ways. It has shown them and us many miracles and some lessons we can learn from their experience. May God bless these men, continue to heal and watch over them and their families, and help me to be as strong as they have been.
