every once in a while something will happen at the seminary, and we’ll say “it’s a miracle!” we had a couple of incidents earlier this week ~ just crazy stories that seem to only be explained by God’s hand. i’m especially hearing stories now that i work in the housing office, as we have personal connections with so many of our residents:
- families miraculously getting Visa’s to come stay while dad studies.
- HUGE checks coming in the mail at just-the-right-time.
- lots of little checks coming at just-the-right-time
- sick kids that are within minutes of some of the world’s best hospitals.
- crazy gifts that are needed but not affordable, like cars or furniture or plane tickets.
so.
tell me this: have you ever seen a miracle?
Yes
oh c’mon! i shouldn’t have made this a yes/no question.
we need details!
yes
yes ma’am!! the most recent one is one of my little ones in a Sunday school had a mom that was given only 2 months to live. Her body was full of cancer. A few months later she went in for another scan. Not a single cancer cell left. Hallelujah for His grace!
SHUT.
UP.
[that's mandy-speak for "that's amazing. i can't believe what you are saying."]
Those are rad reasons to give thanks to God!
Earlier this year, when I left my biz and was having a hard time selling my cars, I felt the SPirit inspire me to hook up this random neighbor guy with a great deal on one of them. He was so inspired that he said, “it’s gonna come back to you ten fold! You’re going to sell that other one on the second phone call!” The one I had a ginormous payment on and had barely had anybody call on in two months. The next day it was paid for in cash… from the guy on the second phone call.
When I was in my teens my parents got a divorce. So, my mom was working hard just to make ends meet for my brother and I. Our car needed to get inspected so that we could get the tags renewed, but the steering column was broken (drivable, but not able to pass inspection). We had no money, so we had been deferring the repair. We went away for the weekend (in another car), and we came home. When we got back, the car was gone. We called the police to report the stolen car and the next day we got the car back. When the car was stolen, the thieves broke the steering column to hot wire it. So, this meant that the insurance company paid for the repairs. The next year – with the same car and the same inspection – we were in the same trouble. This time the windshield was broken (the crack was small enough to drive, but too big for inspection). Anyway, the car got stolen, and when the police recovered it the windshield had been shattered, and again the insurance company paid for it – no questions asked. God stole our car twice to pay for repairs we could never afford!
my marriage healed and restored. i am a living miracle. =)
that’s stinkin’ cuh-RAY-zee!!!
hey sarah! how far back will i need to read in your blog to get more of that story?
i haven’t shared the whole thing on my blog yet! =) When we hang out someday, I’ll tell you =). Or…someday I might blog it. who knows?
whatever the form, i’d love to get that story… my marriage, as well, is a dang-near miracle ~ but, i don’t think i’ll ever blog those details.
My cousin has gold fillings in her teeth. Not kidding. Gold fillings. And they are NOT from a dentist. No moola. Prayed for healing on some teeth that needed attention. And wa-la, gold fillings. She was driving with her husband (husband at steering wheel), looked in the passenger side visor mirror just to check things out. Boom. There they were. Her husband ’bout drove off the road. Not a medical record on the planet that could explain those gold fillings. Only the big G could do that. Interesting note. When she prayed for healing a ney-sayer was with her, but she calmly believed that one way or another God would take care of it. Sometimes God takes care of us via people, funds, doctors, etc. This time. Just a check it off the list. D-O-N-E. Cool huh?!!!?
xoxox,
R
PS: You are so cool sista’ girl friend. Hope all’s well. Heard from Kristi lately?
“have you ever seen a miracle?”
Yup. Oh, you wanted more? Sorry, next time ask an open ended question.
There’s been a bunch in my life and those around me…physical healings, financial freedom and provision, walking dead people made alive in Christ….
One I’ve seen recently is a woman diagnosed with breast cancer, you could feel and see the lumps. She was prayed over at a conference we were at…we all joined out faith, and the next morning smooth as a whistle! It was the coolest. When she got back they couldn’t find cancer, and yes, there is medical documentation. WE serve an awesome God…and give HIM all the glory
Roxx: WHAT!?!? that’s crazy.
Total: thanks, as always…
1godsgal: wow. thank you for coming back. that was worth waiting for!
the fact that i got married…am still married…two HUGE miracles…my wife ROCKS!!! and i’m totally not joking there!!!
and i have a daughter who is almost 15 months old…that is a MIRACLE!!!
Okay, I guess yes is not enough. There are so many little things that happen in my life that I actually call small miracles. Small miracles to me are easily overlooked, but they are there none-the-less.
So, since you asked for it. Here ya go…
To save everyone the book that I could write on this series of events I have bulleted them with a little narrative. This happened in my life June 8, 2007 through June 10, 2007. It is funny how God will touch a person and use him to make a difference in someone else’s life. Funny may not be the right word, it is my word of the day.
It always humbles me the way a series of simple, ordinary events can lead to something truly amazing. What I thought originally was a series of random events turned out to be much more:
1. I saw a friend “S” on Friday evening for a birthday party.
2. He invited me to hear about his mission trip to Kenya the next morning.
3. I heard about his mission trip on Saturday morning, and about the next one planned later in the year.
4. After the mission trip presentation, I rode my bike with “S” and his son Saturday morning, and inflamed my knee.
5. Since I inflamed my knee, I didn’t go to a planned picnic Saturday afternoon; rather I ended up talking with another friend “T” instead. During this visit we talked about the mission trip and the next one planned – “T” said I answered his prayers – he was praying for a trip during that exact time frame to that exact place.
6. I was suppose to ride on Sunday morning, but it rained, and my knee was still hurting from the previous day’s ride, so I went to Church – yes I was going to miss it – training is never fun.
7. While sitting in church waiting for the start of our services, I told my daughters about the last 2 days and how I thought that God used me to communicate for someone else’s need and to help fulfill someone else’s desire.
8. To top off the story, there was even a slide appearing on the PowerPoint screens in our church talking about mission trips. Then as a way to put a cap on the weekend, the service was titled “Shorts. Life-changing stories from Jesus.” The basic point – how God uses us to help others.
In conclusion, I can tell you that this story is actually much longer. There are so many more connections and branches to it. For the benefit of those who are reading this, I thought that the readers digest version was worth writing rather than the novel version (yes, this is the reader’s digest version). I feel I was touched that weekend in a very special way. When something like this happens, pay attention to it, absorb it, and enjoy the ride.
My grandma had a hot spot on her lungs that the doctor said “lit up like a Christmans tree!” which they feared was lung cancer. This spot had been there a while and was growing, but they had to wait until it was big enough to biopsy. She has MANY health issues, cancer being one of them (plus, she smokes like a chimney). So when she went in for the biopsy (her second on this lung) they did a scan first and found nothing. So, no need for a biopsy.
I said “Granny that’s amazing!” and she said “yeah Baby, I do believe in prayer, b/c I prayed.”
Jon: i LOVE Godly marriages!!! man… just about any healthy marriage in today’s society is a miracle.
Michael: that is awesome. really… LOVED the reader’s digest version!
BM: Oh to have the faith of your Granny.
I’m a miracle, and everyone is a miracle…does that count?
can i just answer “yep”?
Ang & Cath: i guess.
calling all MIRACLES…some friends of ours just found out today that they are expecting a child…they have been trying and struggling for quite some time…over three years which seems like eternity to them…I AM JACKED UP!!! God is good!!!
If I was in the mood to be more deep…I would have actually come up with something…
blame it on the pain LOL:)
absolutely yes.
My life is a miracle, but it didn’t come without some heartache. My marriage wasn’t saved…my husband died…and I thought I would die. I never thought I would ever be where I am today. But the fact that I can praise God for the transformation HE’s made in my life through these traumatic events…well, that’s a miracle.
I love reading through these because God is getting some major glory here!
Just this last week we moved from Texas to Georgia. On the very day the movers were at our new house it appeared I was beginning to miscarry (12 weeks preg.). We left the movers, rushed to the ER and the whole thing was miraculous.
Every single person we interacted with seemed to be an extension of God’s kindness and grace. (New city – no family, etc.) The physical symptoms were such that I was certain the baby was gone (we’d been through that before). BUT the ultrasound revealed a perfectly happy, wonderful little baby and a beautiful heartbeat – Praise the Lord that’s a miracle in my book!
AND – I was put on bedrest for a week . . .how does that work with a toddler, moving into a house and a husband who had to get some work done? God took care of it – my parents had already planned to come help us unpack and by the time we left the hospital they were only two hours away. That is NO coincidence
Jon: 3 years is a long time… a long time indeed.
Ang: well, we all have our bad days!
Shanda: have you been here before??? thanks for your comment ~ i LOVE hearing from new readers, and this whole string of comments is amazing. glad you are a part of it.
Lei: i’m praising God with you.
yea…I know.
I guess I will say for the moment that my relationship with my fiancee(which would be a miracle if I could actually spell it.) is a God sent one…He’s amazing:)
i need some of miracle #2.
and yes – i’ve seen many a miracle. blind eyes open (literally watched cataracts fall off), uneven legs grow out, arthritis dry up, wheelchair-bound people rise up and walk, my dad come home (when my parents were separated), my healing of epileptic seizures as a child… i could go on and on and on.
On the front page of wordpress today. NICE!
Yes.
My marriage is one. The fact that we are still married after my husband’s pornography addiction, subsequent moral failures and a child as the result of them is quite possibly a miracle.
Yes. Yes, indeed it is.
Praise Jesus.
We tend to think of miracles as extraordinairy events, but I have learned to think of them as simple acts…
…like my going to church on Sunday.
…or leading a Bible study at my house on Thursday nights.
…or praying. Anything. At all.
…or going through the fire and STILL believing.
To a whole lot of other people, those are “just things I do.” But, to me, they are MIRACLES. Nobody will “ooh” or “aah”, but…
…the price IS worth the cost.
I don’t quite think I ever understood that until…
…last week.
y’all.
this might go down in blogging history as one of my favorite posts. wow. seriously. i’m blown away by this… i am.
Life on earth is a miracle.
THis is so amazing! I love these comments. Yes, I have seen miracles. I’ve seen uneven limbs grow before my eyes, Ive seen people delivered from oppression and addiction, I’ve seen people healed from disease… to name a few.
God is so gracious and powerful. I love to see Him blow the minds of humans and skeptics!!
@ Roxx- I have a friend whose teeth were bothering him, and God placed Gold fillings in them too! That is stinking amazing!
Well, I’ve seen and experienced many miracles throughout my life. Not so many so-called ‘big’ ones , but what my Mom liked to call ‘Ordinary Miracles.’ These happen all the time, and are miraculous in their little ways that speak to me in such profound personal moments that God knows me and is interested in the details of my life.
A verifiably ‘big’ miracle, though, is the life of my Mom and consequently everyone connected to her (and certainly her children and grandchildren to come). In 1954, at the age of 16 months, she was diagnosed with Wilms Tumor which is a deadly fast-growing cancer that attacks children. At that time in medicine it was a death sentence to anyone diagnosed with it. They were just discovering radiation and chemotherapy and its possible effects on cancers. Taking a risk, but the only one that could possibly save her life, they removed one of her kidneys (containing the tumor which had swelled overnight to the size of a grapefruit) and gave her monumental doses of radiation and chemotherapy – more than they would ever dream of giving today. She survived. Doctors told my grandmother that Mom would never be able to have kids – and if she did, they would be deformed or mentally retarded in some way. Grandma didn’t ever tell Mom that the doctors had said this until Mom was pregnant with her 3rd child.
The end of the story is that Mom lived far longer than any doctor ever anticipated. Every specialist who ever saw her said she should have been bedridden or in a wheelchair (the radiation and chemotherapy eventually destroyed her back, deteriorating muscle, bone, tissue and cartilage) yet for years she defied every prediction, staying active and healthy despite almost constant pain. Also, she eventually had 5 children – all of us healthy and strong – and all of us delivered naturally.
Mom died in 2005 4 months after I got married. She had been partially bedridden and wheelchair bound in the last year before she died, but on the occasion of my wedding was able not only to fly the 1200 miles from Maryland to Minnesota, but was also able to walk down the aisle on my brother’s arm. Her beaming face told how thrilled she was to be there and participate in her daughter’s big day.
Her miracle goes on – as long as she has children and grandchildren on this earth, we will be a legacy of the miracle that was granted to her and to my grandparents through her life.
And now I’m choked up and wiping tears, so I will leave off here. Good post indeed, Mandy.
annie, hearing about your mom again moved me. i love you, friend!
i’m speechless.
Thanks, Alece, I love you too.
After reading ‘imaginary friend’ I think, “Blog friends are the best friends.” Although I know that the in-person friendships I have are so deep and impactful to my life – I think blogging is so ‘real’ in a sense because … well, I know with me who I really am flows from my fingers much more easily at times than from my mouth. So knowing me through what I write is sometimes a much deeper and more intimate way of knowing me than face-to-face. Wait. God is like that. 
I think I need to make this same comment on that post.
I DEFINITELY believe in miracles. In fact my family are I believing God for one right now.
But just as an example; I had lost my hearing in one of my ears. At this time I was traveling on the road more frequently as a background singer, and somehow had lost my hearing in a concert. I mean my ear was literally ringing loudly, and I would have to turn my head to listen to someone speak. My former pastor ladi hands on and commanded my ear to be open by the power of the blood of Jesus. I couldn’t hear him, but I saw his mouth say “Pop” Pop, “Pop” three or four times. He stuck his finger in my ear and just like that the ringing went away and I heard CLEARLY. I literally SCREAMED with joy. It was a great experience to see God’s power move like that
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Well, I’ll tell you about a funny miracle….
Several years ago…as a new Christian, my CD player broke in my car. I am addicted to music, a music junkie of sorts, and this was devastating (at that time), and I could not afford to get it fixed. I drove my car without CD’s for almost 2 years. I tried from time to time to get the player to accept a CD, and it just wouldn’t. One day, I was sitting at a red light, and I could feel God nudging me to put in a CD. I was a little freaked out and my heart was racing, because I KNEW it was going to work, and I knew why. After 2 years of not working, I stuck in a CD, and it played perfectly and worked thereafter. God proved to me that day He is everywhere with me, at all times, in the big and small matters of life. I have had an amazing relationship with Him ever since. Not because God fixed my CD player, but because He gave me a special moment with His power to prove so much to me….. (it also proved to me that God loves music!) LOL
Short version:
2 kids get invited to VBS. Mom & dad not Christians. Dad has heart attack, goes to hospital. Teacher prays with kids for dad. VBS prays for dad. Dad recovers. Both parents come watch kids sing at VBS finale. Parents decide to come to church on Sunday and eventually call Jesus Lord.
Really!
wow. wow. wow.
for all these stories! kelli, melissa, paul – thank you for sharing these! wow.
my mom’s a miracle.
she went through a new treatment for Hepatitis C a few years back. the side effects were similar to chemo…plus some emotional and mental side effects set off by the medications. it was still a very new process, and I think it’s still rare to put people through it… I basically lost my mom for the 6+months she went through it all. She was a different person, almost a zombie. We went from best friends to living in the same house and barely speaking for months.
At the same time I was a new christian and my friends all prayed with me on a regular basis for my mom to be healed. A short time into this crazy, new, harsh treatment…the doctors were stunned by the progress her body was making. And eventually, she was given a clean bill of health. Because Hep C is a virus, it is still there, but (and I’m no doctor so it still confuses me) the ways that it could eventually have killed her, are all gone.
God totally healed her, and also healed our relationship.
God’s love is so strong.
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