The dictionary defines a miracle as an unusual or wonderful event that is believed to be caused by the power of God. We’ve all heard of miracles happening, and I believe that I have witnessed one through my own son’s healing several years ago. But do we always recognize the miracle as it occurs?
Someone very close to me is dying. She won’t see Christmas this year, and there will be no more birthday celebrations. The heartbreaking part is that she is four years old and has a rare form of cancer. Losing a child is often a parents’ worst fear, and I can’t help but imagine that it might be hard to keep the faith, to understand and rationalize why God would call such a young soul home. How do you keep from feeling cheated? Angry? Especially when you and thousands of others have begged for a miracle.
My young friend has touched the hearts of people all over the world with her story. In Psalm 139, it says that “all the days ordained for me were written in Your Book before any one of them came to be.” It takes some folks eighty years to fulfill their span of days that has been set before time began. But it means that a four-year-old’s life is equally as complete because each was ordained by God.
But did she have her miracle? Was the miracle the extra year she had in remission? It took seven years for her parents to conceive her. Was that a miracle in itself? Is her presence in our lives and hearts a miracle to those who know her? Historically, there are tangible miracles documented throughout various religions. And, how many times do we say, it’s a miracle that happened? I imagine there are big and small miracles. Praying for the extended life of a child is huge and would definitely be categorized as a gigantic miracle if she had been cured of cancer and was going to live well into her senior years. But I can’t help but wonder if we aren’t in the midst of a series of miracles that can all be attributed to this one child’s life.
Will her medical history save the lives of hundreds of children with her rare form of cancer? How many lives will be changed because of her four short years here on this Earth? Bonds were established and friendships formed because one little girl brought together a bunch of people who would never have known each other had she not been sick. How will those relationships affect others? Will there be tiny miracles morphing into larger ones all over the world because of this child’s blessed life? I think so.
God blesses us with miracles all the time. Sometimes, we might not see them for what they are at the time, especially if you are a grieving parent. I think most parents would offer their own life for their child, and that kind of love is a miracle in itself, something God gifted us with.
As I write this, I am reminded of the many small miracles in my life, and I’m going to try hard to appreciate them, remember them to be just that. What about you? Have you witnessed a miracle in your own life, large or small?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Beth Wiseman’s latest book, The Promise, the main character, Mallory, has the goal of saving a life. When she is unable to donate a kidney to save her cousin’s life, she puts her own life in danger to help a stranger.
