It is NOT a miracle!

One of my biggest pet peeves about disasters is how someone will take the opportunity after the fact to say that some aspect of it was "a miracle." For example: there will be an earthquake somewhere, 25,000 people will die, and five days later the rescue workers will pull some 3 year old out of the rubble, alive. Immediately someone will say "It's a miracle!" The same is true of the Minnesota bridge collapse story. Observe:

"We were surprised that we didn't have more people seriously injured and killed," Minneapolis Fire Chief Jim Clack told The Associated Press. "I think it was something of a miracle."

No, it was NOT a miracle! There was nothing miraculous about it! It was a complete tragedy, and over a dozen people have probably lost their lives. I think there should be a new rule: whenever ANYONE dies in an accident/disaster/etc., the world loses the right to use the phrase "miracle" in conjunction with that event. If a plane crashes and four of the 300 people live, their survival is NOT a miracle! It is good luck! Gah!

Look at it this way: how horrible would it be to lose a loved one in some accident or disaster, and then hear people saying that someone else suriving the same event was "a miracle." What does that say about the loss of your loved one? That God couldn't be bothered? I understand the point people are trying to make, I just think this is one of those situations where we should be a little less quick with the phrases we use.