Seeing "M"iracles "N"ow

I did it again.  I let life take over my weekend and I'm behind a letter in my AtoZ Challenge.  But no need to worry, I'm getting caught up today! 

I'm curious, how many people have experienced a miracle in their life?  Do you look for them?  Do you anticipate God to work them today, or even now at this very moment?  God can and does everyday of our lives.  Ephesians 3:20 tells us, with God's power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.

Nine years ago we thought we were losing my Dad.  He went in for heart surgery.  I want to say routine bypass surgery but is bypass surgery ever really routine?  I can close my eyes and still go back to the day my world changed and almost shattered.  I can still smell the smells, see the fear in my Mom's eyes and hear the alarms as if it was just happening today.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a Daddy's girl. I love my family and I hurt when they hurt.  A simple bypass surgery was all it was supposed to be but things took a drastic turn after surgery.  I can remember sitting there, next to the bed, with my Mom.  She was knitting and I was reading and Dad was sitting up in bed counting down the minutes to when he could have his Jello.  I remember us kidding on what flavor he wanted.  And then I looked down at my book and the words were gone.

There was no writing on the pages but instead it was as if I was watching a video play out.  There were noises like alarms, blue lights flashing, people in white coats filling the room and my Mom and I were hiding in the corner.  I saw myself on the page kicking a stool and chair out of the way and just grabbing my Mom and covering her eyes.  And then, just as quick as I'd seen the images, it happened for real.

Blue lights started flashing.  Alarms and codes were being sent out all over the floor.  Every time I blinked, more nurses and doctors were in the room.  And I realized, I had kicked the stool and the chair and was standing in the corner covering my Mom's eyes. 

All I could see was my Dad on the bed, his body covered in sweat, his body jumping and jerking with each snap of the paddles to restart his heart.  Doctors were pulling tubes out of him, people were yelling words I couldn't understand.  Mom and I were escorted out of the room, the curtain was drawn and the door closed...and then there was silence.

My Mom sat in a chair directly outside of Dad's room.  Her eyes never left the door.  Nurses came over and asked her to sign paperwork and Mom just looked at me.  As if in a fog, she just stared at me unsure of what was happening.  I remember telling her to sign the forms.  It's to help Dad.  SIGN THEM!  Before Mom could even sign them, another set of alarms and codes rang out.  Dad had had another event and once again he was being jolted back to life.

We never thought when Dad went in for surgery that we'd be in this situation. I wasn't prepared and I just wanted to ask God what his big plan was?

For almost two weeks, Dad was on a ventilator and put into a medically induced coma.  For almost two weeks I would make daily trips, multiple times a day, to the ICU floor of the hospital.  I would rub his hair and talk to him.   I would call up to the hospital each morning to see how his night had gone. It's hard to see someone you care about hooked up to so many machines just to keep them alive.

I will never forget the fear that gripped me that day.  And then God stirs my heart and I remember that series of images in my book.  God gave me a miracle that day.  Not only did he provide treatment and healing for my Dad, he provided me protection and trust throughout the entire process.

That series of images were from God.  It was God letting me know He was ultimately in control.  Only God could provide a miracle like that.  Only God.

What's amazing is God performs miracles like that everyday.  But do we stay in tune enough to see them?  Are we actively looking for those miracle moments?  Gloria Gaither has a quote, "I could go through this day oblivious to the miracles all around me or I could tune in and enjoy".

Step outside yourself right now and look around.  Your life is full of miracles.  Don't get so caught up in life that you miss the miracles that happen each and every day.  When you miss the opportunities to believe the impossible, you are slamming the door on what God can do.  I pray you will get so caught up in the miracles that you will just have to share the news and that that news will ignite a fire for Christ.  Go on now, go see a few miracles for yourself....God's waiting.....