Yes, I Believe in Miracles

I have been a believer in the existence of miracles for at least 20 years now. But, what happened a little over a week ago has emboldened my belief.

My wife and I were out of town for a leadership conference. My parents had come to stay with our children while we were away. On Sunday at church my dad began to experience chest pain. A short eight hours later he lay on the operating table undergoing a 6+ hour open-heart surgery. Thankfully, the surgery was a smashing success.

That wasn't the miraculous part for me. Plenty of people's lives are saved everyday by skilled surgeons who have undergone rigorous training and then spent years using those skills. I deeply respect and appreciate them. The miracle was in the circumstances surrounding the surgery. The night of the surgery my mom was told that if he had gone another hour or two without the surgery he would probably be dead.

Here are just some of the miraculous pieces of the puzzle:

• The doctors almost didn't even find the problem. The EKG and other tests didn't reveal anything. In passing conversation it came up that my parents had been traveling long-distance a few days earlier. This led the staff to do a CAT scan to see if there was a blood clot. The CAT scan revealed the tear in his aorta that was creating an aneurysm that would have killed him. So, if they hadn't traveled 9 hours to come watch our kids, it is likely the problem would never have been discovered.


• The likelihood that they would have been able to get the kind of medical care dad needed in their area in southern Missouri is slim.


• The fact that they were here in Wheaton put them in the vacinity of one of a few hospitals that was equipped to handle this particular problem with such speed.


• The reason they went to that hospital is because my 16 year old son had recently been there to get stiches (see first blog post). So, when Grandma said they needed to go to the hospital that was the first place of he thought of. He remembered the route and gave them directions - saving precious time as they would find out later.

My family and I are very grateful to God for His amazing care. Dad is recovering very, very well. The picture above was taken less than ONE WEEK after the surgery. Can you tell?? I look forward to more years of loving him and learning from him.