Wonderful news! Our prayers of faith have been answered!
I was absolutely thrilled to read Sam Shaw’s update on little Eloise. She is well. She is laughing. Her doctors cannot explain the change that took place which enabled her to forgo the scheduled surgical procedure. Eloise becomes another living witness that miracles do happen. I rejoice with Sam and his family. My soul is full of gladness!
One definition of a miracle has been stated thus:
“A beneficial event brought about through divine power that mortals do not understand and of themselves cannot duplicate.”
Elder Dallin H. Oaks, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave a beautiful sermon on Miracles in 2001. He stated:
“The idea that events are brought about through divine power is rejected by most irreligious people and even by some who are religious. Some people reject the possibility of miracles because they have not experienced them or cannot understand them. And yet, “To deny the reality of miracles on the ground that the results and manifestations must be fictitious simply because we cannot comprehend the means by which they have happened is arrogant...”
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I believe in miracles! Over the next 3 months I will personally be repeating the mantra “One Year Ago Today…”. This week I attended my daughters dance concert. I watched her perform a beautiful tango, executing difficult moves with unparalleled enthusiasm and skill. The dance was exciting and the audience showered their appreciation…however, to our family, we knew we were witnessing nothing short of a miracle.
It was one year ago that this same daughter was lying in a hospital bed hundreds of miles from home fighting for her life, crippled by a rare nerve disorder. I vividly recall putting on my “brave face” for Mother’s Day. I was in an unknown city, lonely and uncertain of the future, sitting in a dreary hospital room and feeling helpless. A phone call from my dear husband expressing his love was bitter-sweet. Then, a little smile crossed my daughter’s face as she whispered that she had a surprise for me. She revealed a small package wrapped in tissue paper and tied with a ribbon. Inside I found a beautiful necklace of sparkling glass beads. I knew that she must have spent hours carefully stringing each one by hand with the assistance of her Art Therapist. It was a tender moment. It carried a powerful message from my Heavenly Father that He had not forgotten either of His daughters that day. I will always treasure this gift not only for it’s outward lovliness but especially for its inner beauty. The necklace stands as a physical symbol of things that cannot be expressed in words. It reflects the love and miracles I have witnessed. When I touch these beads today, my mind recalls the hours, days and weeks of pain & fear which were continually washed away with small daily blessings. They often came so quietly and simply it was easy to overlook a tender mercy from the Lord. However, I made a habit of writing them down in my journal each time I recognized one. They number in the hundreds. Elder Oaks coined them “Micro-miracles“. Indeed, the Lord certainly indulges us by ‘micro-managing’ our lives from time to time! Especially during the hardest experiences.
For nine long weeks I poured my heart out in continual prayer, along with hundreds of loved ones, friends, church members and complete strangers. Those prayers were an outward exercise of our combined Faith. And when faith is channeled, miracles always happen. God cannot restrain Himself from throwing wide the “windows of heaven”.
Despite the outward signs or magnificent displays, there is a more quiet miracle we must seek:
“The greatest miracle is not in such things as restoring sight to the blind, healing an illness, or even raising the dead, since all of these restorations will happen, in any event, in the Resurrection.…A change of heart, including new attitudes, priorities, and desires, is greater and more important than any miracle involving the body…this change opens the door to the process of repentance that cleanses us to dwell in the presence of God…lead[ing] us to make the choices that qualify us for eternal life, “the greatest of all the gifts of God”. – Dallin H. Oaks Read Entire Article Here
Jesus Christ is our divine Creator. He is our loving Savior, our promised Resurrection, and our willing Redeemer. All creation testifies of Him. We must only look around us to see that each and every day is a vibrant miracle!
Latter-day Soprano 