Thursday, April 15, 2010

M is for...Miracles

Miracle is defined as…


An effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.
such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God.
A wonder; marvel.

Miracles happen all the time, you just have to look for them. I thought I would share 3 miracles that have happened to me, well 3 that I am aware of anyway.

Miracle #1...

When I was about 17 I was dating a man who had just gotten out of the service. He was quiet and very respectful and his story was one that tugged at my heart strings. He told me of being abandoned as a young child, in and out of foster homes, and finally of being taken in by his grandparents. He said he had been medically discharged from the military because of a tragic and painful incident; he never really went into detail. One day while looking with him through his things we came across a gun. A Black Hand gun. I did not really think much about it at the time. (Much too late I did find out all he had told me was a complete and utter lie, but by then it was too late.)


About a month or so into the relationship things turned dark and scary, with a little violence thrown in to the mix. I got scared and asked my parents to let me join the Job Corp and go to Seattle, Washington. Thankfully they agreed and off I went, while there I got into drinking and drugs, life wasn’t so great there either, it turns out. I tried to get into my courses but to no avail. One day HE called me and told me if I didn’t come home to him he would hurt my family. I went home, saw him once to tell him goodbye forever, and tried to stay out of sight and hopefully out of mind. My friends told me he was looking for me and was saying he wanted to kill me. We all thought this was just talk because I had broken up with him a week or so after coming home. If only it were just talk.


Sitting on the floor watching the news one day, a horrible sight came on the screen, changing my life in ways I never thought possible. Two men had kidnapped, raped and shot two female hitchhikers, execution style. The pictures they showed were of my ex-boyfriend and another gentleman I had met only once. I had been dating a murderer, and he had wanted to kill me, but for the grace of God, it could have been me. Trials and testifying left me scared and scarred for life, and the nightmares took years to disappear completely. I am alive today, and for me it’s a miracle I am here writing this post. There is more to this story and perhaps one day I will share the rest but for now this is all I can put down on paper.


Miracle #2…


When I was in the delivery room with baby #2, Jacob got stuck. His shoulders were just too big, and for some reason I could not push him out. So after about 20 minutes with me pushing with all I had and a nurse pushing my stomach as hard as she dared, out popped Jacob, grey and not breathing. My OBGYN had not arrived yet, so they had to call down to the ER dept. and have a doctor from there come up to labor and delivery stat. They beat on my poor little baby boy with a rubber mallet and whatnot and finally got him to breathe his first tiny labored breath. He was blue and looked very angry in his first picture but oh, so beautiful, my miracle child was alive.


Miracle #3…


During a routine ultrasound for my 4th and final baby the ultrasound technician found 3 abnormalities that indicated that she might have Down syndrome. After calling in the doctor to confirm, we were rescheduled for a second more intense test and told they found the same 3 abnormalities that indeed looked as if she had Down syndrome. My husband and I were heartbroken and went home to try to make sense of what had just happened. One moment we were on cloud nine after finding out we were finally having a baby girl, and the next we are told to be prepared for life with a child with Down syndrome.


We were beside ourselves with fear and grief, but not once did we think to have an abortion as the doctor suggested. For us, any child is a gift from God, no matter what disability she came with. Skip ahead to the day when my doctor told us she was breach and had to be turned manually or taken by C-section. Turning her did not work, so we were rushed into the surgery suite and Molly was born by C-section. The first miraculous words out of my doctor’s mouth were “She’s perfect”. Boy she could scream and let me tell you she had some head of hair. She had dark brown hair that was about 2 inches long already. No wonder I had so much heartburn…lol. When the doctor said the words “She’s perfect” I was sure I had been witness to a real life miracle. She had more than enough evidence to indicate Down syndrome including a small hole in her heart. Two weeks after being born she had a heart test that showed the hole had all but closed up. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!


So yes, I for one believe in miracles, because I can think of 3 that I have been witness to in my very own life. How about you, what miracles have you seen in your own life?


Blessings to you all, and please go check out tossing it out and have a look around at all the other blogs in this wonderful challenge we are in.

25 comments:

Belbin9 said...

Those are some incrediable miracles. I believe in miracles myself, but one of my friends does not. It makes it hard trying to describe something to him that he only believes as good luck. Awesome post

unnamed lad said...

wow! the Lord definitely keeps His Hand on His Own all the days of their lives!!!

PRAISE ADONAI !!!

Unknown said...

What a powerful post Shannon, thank you for sharing your heart and life so openly with us! God is good indeed, how scary with the
ex-boyfriend, I can't even imagine! And your 2nd child Jacob, I had tears in my eyes...Praise God all was well and he is a healthy boy today. Just weeks away from delivering #1, that sent chills down my spine because I cannot imagine how I would react if anything like that would happen! And Praise Him too for your beautiful and healthy daughter! I can't BELIEVE the doctor had the gall to suggest an abortion, that is SO not their place...ridiculous.

Thanks for sharing your miracles, God's hand is definitely on you and your family!

Blessings on your day!
Trudy

Arlee Bird said...

God has certainly been generous with his blessing upon you and your family as he has with me and mine. I think there have been many miracles in my life that I don't even really know about. All I know is that I am still here today and that God has protected me.
Lee
Blogging From A to Z April Challenge

Linda Medrano said...

This is so touching! I'm as so glad you had your miracles, Darlin'!

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

You certainly had God on your side,
I'm so glad you're here to tell the tale.
God Bless.
Yvonne,

Creative Chronicler said...

What a moving post! I'm a strong believer in miracles and have had many in my life.

Your post & your blog are inspiring!

Raquel Byrnes said...

You totally had me in tears! What an amazing testimony of God's hand on your life. Thank you so much for opening up and sharing such wonderful blessings.

Patricia Stoltey said...

Amazing stories, Shannon. I believe in miracles too. If we pay attention to the world around us, we can see them everywhere.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Those are incredible miracles!

Stephen T. McCarthy said...

Wow! SHANNON ~
That was some Blog Bit! I LOVE the fact that you didn't take the medical establishment's advice and have an abortion.

See? Follow God's Word and let Him take care of things in His own way.

That was GREAT! Thanks! A very inspiring post.

~ "Lonesome Dogg" Stephen

Trevor Peck said...

He saved me! That is most miraculous thing anyone can ever say.

Marjorie said...

Miracles are real. I'm so happy you have had a few of your own. I have had a miracle or two in my life the most significant being a dream about my second daughter. Maybe I'll blog about it on letter R.

Unknown said...

Aren't we blessed to KNOW and SERVE a the one true LIVING God?!!!

To God Be the Glory! Great Things He Hath Done!

Thanks for sharing your miracles with us!

Tori Cooper said...

Wow Shannon! Those are definitely some amazing miracles... God is good! I am so glad to know that God has protected you & Your family from harm... thank you for sharing your stories... I was blown away by your first miracle... you are a very strong woman of God! Keep em coming!

Lisa said...

We serve a miracle working God, don't we!? It's amazing the things he keeps us from. I really enjoyed reading this post my friend.

Unknown said...

God is certainly working to keep you safe and he is giving you more miracles by the day and I love how you have embraced each moment and kept life amazing even after all the trials.

I've had a miracle of my own for sure and I am lucky to be alive and well the same. One day maybe I'll have the courage to share the story as you have done, until then I'll keep it close to my heart! Wonderful post, thank you for sharing.

Jen said...

The bigger miracle is that you are open to seeing the miracles in your life. There are many people that have so many miracles but can't see them!

Lorena G. Sims said...

God is good! Thanks for sharing those miracles to us. You touched my heart.
I believe in miracles and yes, miracles do happens all the time.
I think we ought to share miracles that had happened to us, to touched other peoples lives.
Thanks for sharing.

Ella said...

You certainly have had some scary moments in your life! Shannon,
I am so sorry for all that you have
endured, but you had light at the end of your tunnel. True miracles...

My miracle was surviving a Type 1 diabetic coma, 1380 blood sugar, being medivacced off an island in Alaska. I lost my 1st child, I was pregnant at the time. I am lucky to be alive; I'm blessed with 2 children!

Unknown said...

WOW thank you for sharing your stories! You're definitely a testimony of miracles!

Gregg Metcalf said...

Wow! I shudder at what you have had to experience! Though, from a biblical definition I am not sure I would classify these as "miracles" [hate to spoil your M] they certainly are episodes of divine soveregin grace where God chose to preserve you for His own good purposes, which I am very glad. God certainly and sovereignly intervened in your life giving you, your family, friends, and others much reason to rejoice and be thankful! Praise God for your safety!

Shannon said...

Wow! PTL for sure!

Kathi Oram Peterson said...

Thank you for sharing your miracles! I believe in miracles. Have seen many in my life. I'm so glad I found your blog. :)

Natasha said...

Each one of your miracles is a real miracle. Thank you for sharing them with us.

~ Rayna

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