When it comes to miracles, there are two kinds of people.

Those who don’t believe in miracles and those who see miracles everywhere.

Well, actually that’s simplifying it a bit because many don’t fit squarely into one category. As life goes on they sometimes change their beliefs about miracles. But you get the point.

I do believe wholeheartedly in everyday miracles. I’m not talking about the kind of supernatural Biblical events like curing blindness or leprosy with just one touch.

I’m talking about the beauty and wonders we see each day, if we look, that is.

On one occasion one loud guy jumped on my comment about every day miracles by saying, “I don’t believe there is such a thing. It’s like believing in the tooth fairly - a nice concept but lacking in reality.”

I told him the little miracles I often see add joy to my world. “I’m sorry you never had that pleasure,” I said.

It’s true that two people might look at the same scene. One will see nothing special - nothing at all. The other one might see a delightful scene that warms her heart. It’s her daily dose of an everyday miracle.

As I talked about the challenge of writing an article about everyday miracles, my husband asked me when was the last time I actually saw one.

“Today,” I answered.

Then I told him about the ibis that suddenly appeared in my yard. We might see ibis just about every day, especially on the golf course that bordered our homes. At best we’ll see a few or a dozen gathered for their early morning meal.

I started counting the ibis that were stretched out in my backyard. I got to 50 and they still kept coming, crowding into my yard that fronts a pond. Usually they will eat what’s in the grass then leave in a few minutes for a new spot. This time they stayed, like guests at a party having too much of a good time to leave.

When a few ibises high in the sky flew by I didn’t think they could see the crowd on the ground. But to my surprise they landed and joined the party.

But all that isn’t what made me call it an everyday miracle. After a major hurricane turned our little community into rubble and scorched earth, many of our trees disappeared.

We once enjoyed a stunning kaleidoscope of many kind of birds, including my favorites, the great blue herons. I loved sitting outside after dinner listening to the bird’s daily concert and watching them roost for the night.

Our neighborhood felt blessed to have a huge tree serve as a roosting site for a variety of birds. It seemed unlikely to see so many different birds in the same tree. Not just a few, but dozens of birds.

People came from other areas to photograph the amazing scene.

Sadly the hurricane destroyed what we called the nesting tree. What is left of it hangs in the water, buried in debris. Not only did all the birds disappear but we never saw another nesting site in the neighborhood.

When I get company they often ask: What happened to the birds? They never came back.

That’s why I called the big convention in my yard a little miracle. We’re hoping the nests will come back.

Sometimes what I call my everyday miracle is only what some call a weed. But look closely and you will see the most delicate flower appearing among the weeds. The closer you look, the more amazing that little flower appears.

Sometimes it’s a person that wins my awe. That’s what happened when I met Ardie Rodale. We got to be close friends when my daughter and her son were dating. The kids eventually went their separate ways but Ardie and I maintained our beautiful friendship.

As an owner of what was then Rodale Press based in Emmaus, Ardie could have had any position there that she wanted. She chose to be the Chief Inspirational Officer of Rodale Inc. Her goal was to encourage and inspire everyone to find joy and meaning. That, she certainly did.

Sometimes for my birthday she made room in her busy schedule for lunch and a long walk in nature. We were both in love with life, and both relished so many of life’s simple joys.

On year she gave me an autographed copy of her latest book, Everyday Miracles, Meditations on Living an Extraordinary Life. I loved that book way back in 2007 and I love it even more now when our troubled world needs Ardie’s reminder of the goodness of each day. All we have to do is look for it.

I hope you will look. As Ardie says, I hope you “feel the light, the light of goodness, the light of your potential just waiting to be released.”

I’ve read the book many times and I’ve learned something each time.

Most of all the book reinforces my belief that we all can be an instrument of change, even if we just change one heart.

She reinforced my belief that if you’re filled with love that love will spill over to those around you, sometimes even to those you don’t know. And perhaps you’ll even have them looking for their own everyday miracles.

Because isn’t love, when it comes, the greatest miracle of all?

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.