BIG Miracles

I've seen a lot of small miracles, and in my relatively short lifetime I've even witnessed a few big miracles too. A lot of times we throw around the word miracle as an everyday occurrence. Like it was a miracle that Brian, once again, agreed to wear a humiliating Halloween costume. And even though thousands of healthy babies are born everyday, it still felt like a true miracle when Isabelle came into our world. One day I had a big round belly, and the next day she was in plain view, nestled in my arms. I wasn't sure I would ever be as moved by God's grace as I was on that day.

But I have. It was exactly a year ago today that our family witnessed what I think was a BIG miracle. On Brian's birthday, November 4, 2010, we were told that his cousin, Janelle, probably wouldn't make it through the night while fighting a "flesh-eating bacteria" that had led to the amputation of her leg. We cried and prayed, and we certainly felt that we needed a miracle to save our precious Janelle. And just last weekend I was practically brought to tears of joy as I watched Janelle dancing at her sister's Halloween party. She survived this rare and horrific disease, the loss of her leg, and she is as healthy and active (not to mention beautiful!) now as she ever was. She even embraces her new life as an amputee...running her first triathalon, and dressing up as a pirate for Halloween!

So, a few weeks ago I found myself praying for another miracle. Well, it wasn't the first time we were praying for a miracle for Henry. During his first 6 months of life this sweet baby has endured what few people endure in a lifetime; he was living with a defected heart that we once thought needed repair and soon learned it needed a replacement. There were at least 2 close encounters with death that this little fighter somehow survived, and we knew that he desperately needed a heart to go on. How could he face yet another encounter with death and beat the odds?

Having witnessed a medical miracle before, I did have faith that the miracle of a new heart was possible. But to be honest, I am a realist (not a pessimist, as my husband likes to say!) and I was really, really worried that he might not get a heart in time. I kept praying along with his many prayer warriors, but I was so, so scared. Afterall, BIG miracles don't come along everyday.

Only 15 days after being placed on the transplant list, the tragic loss for another family led to the possibility of life for another human being. It was definitely bittersweet, thinking of the young child who was killed in a car accident, but we were rejoicing in the miracle of a new heart for precious Henry. It was a day of excitement, sadness, fear, but so much hope. Henry likes to keep everyone on his toes, and on the night of his surgery he had another close encounter with death...the quick actions of the doctors and nurses, his fighting spirit, and possibly another miracle is what saved him again.

I think of the family often, as I know Jane and Carrington do too...what a brave and honorable choice they made during their time of shock and sorrow. They allowed for a very BIG miracle and we are all so thankful.