“Pentecostal fire stirring something new

You’re not gonna run out of miracles anytime soon

Yeah, resurrection power runs in my veins too

I believe there’s another miracle here in this room…”

— “Rattle” by Elevation Worship

Dear Readers, I have shared quite a lot of things with you over the years. But I don’t think I’ve ever shared the story of my birth. (Forgive me if I have.)

I’ve been walking a strange path of doubt and faith as of late — but as funny as it is, a Facebook comment I made quite some time ago popped up tonight and reminded me where the foundations of my faith lie. I didn’t know it — but at the time of my birth, God was sewing seeds of faith that often led and continue to lead me back to him.

There are parts of the story that are not mine to tell, but suffice it to say that my mom had a difficult pregnancy with me. I would not have survived birth had she not been in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.

I was taken two months early by emergency C-section at Children’s Hospital in Buffalo in 1989. They expected me to be mentally handicapped and quite a lot of other things. I was so tiny I could fit in my dad’s hand. I was 3 pounds, 12 ounces when I was born.

A doctor came into visit my mom after I was born and explained that I was lucky to be alive. My mom agreed, but the doctor further explained that I wouldn’t be alive if all the right people haven’t been there at that time.

Thirty-two years ago, the Lord saved my life through the hands of medical staff and defied all odds. I’d make it out of the hospital alive and well. I have hearing loss and my lungs aren’t fantastic — but here I am, just the same.

I tell you this tonight because sometimes we forget the interventions of the Lord. Sometimes, we forget the grace he has shown us in so many different ways. I know I do and have been quite often lately.

The world can be a bitter, troubled place. Things are confusing and traumatic and overwhelming. But meanwhile, the whispers of the Lord and the prayers that have been sent up to Heaven on our behalf still curl around our hearts, souls and minds reminding us how deep his love truly is for us. It is not an easy path. It is not an easy life. But it is an easy love that covers every part of every fiber of our being.

The Lord saved me at the time of my birth. Then, he saved me again eight years later when I was baptized in Chautauqua Lake. He’s saved me countless other times throughout my life, reigning me back in to his unfailing love. Friends, I hope that you, too, can remember these foundations in your own life — the miracles big and small — where God showed up and moved in your life in amazing ways. I surely needed the reminder — maybe you did, too. Grace, mercy and peace be unto you and yours — may the Lord bless you and keep you, may he make his face to shine upon you and give you peace.