Do Miracles Still Happen?

Absolutely! Earlier this month I wrote about five years ago when the Lord instantaneously healed the torn ligament in my ankle—one week before I was due to schedule surgery with my orthopedist. Tonight I want to tell you my Aunt Linda’s story.

Brain Aneurism
Aunt Linda is a Mary Kay sales director with team members throughout Florida and Georgia. A few years ago, she headed over to Panama City to help one of her friends and team members with some training sessions. Linda stopped to have lunch, and as she was sitting there, she began to feel strange. In her words, she felt like she needed to get up and run out of the restaurant, but before she could make it to the door, her legs collapsed and she fell to the ground.

Linda knew that something was terribly wrong, and she immediately started speaking over herself: “I plead the covering of the blood of Jesus from the top of my head to the soles of my feet.” Paramedics were eating lunch at the same restaurant, and they immediately drove her to the hospital for observation.

As I was coming in from work that evening I had a call from Aunt Dinah, Linda’s sister. Linda had been diagnosed with a brain aneurism, and the prognosis was scary. They wanted to clip the bleed to prevent any further damage, and they were waiting to do surgery at her request until her sisters and husband could get to the hospital to see her.

We arrived sometime in the wee hours of the morning. The surgeon showed us all the MRI that clearly revealed the aneurism. We were told she was not stable to move; she would have to have the surgery in Panama City. There was a significant chance that the blood vessel would still rupture, and if it did, the prognosis was death or severe permanent disability.

Before going into surgery, Linda asked that we all hold hands around her bedside and pray with her. We also prayed for and over her doctors and anointed her with oil. Because the surgery was scheduled to last for such a long time and we’d traveled through much of the night to get there, we all left to try to get some sleep at a nearby hotel.

Rupture
Several hours later the hospital called. Things had gone from bad to worse. During the operation, Aunt Linda’s aneurism had ruptured, and she had blood on a large area of her brain. The doctor was unsure whether she’d ever regain consciousness, and if she did, what the permanent damage would be.

In the midst of this, I continued to feel the total calm of God’s presence. I knew without a doubt that he was with her and working on her behalf. We were told it would probably be the next day before she woke up, if she ever did. Imagine the hospital staff’s surprise when a short time later, she began to stir. Our family gathered around her bedside again to hold her hand, talk to her and encourage her.

We were so thrilled that she was actually awake, that we began teasing her husband that we were going to take him out to get a steak to celebrate. As we stood debating about how best to get to the restaurant, Aunt Linda motioned for a pen and paper. (She was still intubated and couldn’t speak.) She wrote, “Left at the Starbucks.” Not only was Linda following the conversation, she was able to give us directions!

Miracle Lady
Aunt Linda was released to return to our home city a week later. As she left the hospital, everyone there referred to her as the “Miracle Lady.” She left without any permanent damage or loss of function. What a miracle!

In the year that followed her aneurism, she continued to take anti-seizure medication, prescribed as a standard precaution following this type of brain surgery. Her hair grew in to cover the scar where they’d removed her skull to get to the affected area. There were never any further complications from the aneurism.

Today, she continues to be healthy and happy. She continually proclaims the Lord’s favor over her and his healing power.

Words to Live By
Miracles absolutely still happen today! Next time, we’ll talk about the times when it seems that they don’t. Until then, remember:

“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8

“Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds—his name is the Lord—and rejoice before him. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.” Psalm 68:4–6

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2–4