Missed Miracles

"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26).

During my spine surgery in May, something happened. I don’t know exactly what because, with all the trauma around the operation, I can’t remember the details. I just know that my kidneys failed at the time of the procedure. I can still hear the nephrologist who came into my hospital room later that evening as he leaned in close to my bed.

“You do know that God can heal, don’t you?” He asked. A gold cross hung from his neck.

“Yes,” was all I could say through the fog of pain and lingering anesthetic. Inside, I not only knew that God can heal the broken in body, mind and spirt, I had experienced His healing in the past.

“Pray, and God will heal your kidney,” he added before he left.

I smiled and agreed, but didn’t know what he was talking about. The surgery had been on my spine, not my kidneys. The surgeon had fused my spine along the lumbar area, inserted rods and a metal plate. When the kidney doctor left, I was too dazed to grasp what he meant by a problem with my kidney.

My own, nonverbal silent prayers, buried beneath the blur of anesthetic, pain and total kidney failure were for the rapid and complete healing of my back. The collapse of my lower spine was why I walked into the hospital early that morning, not something else.

In spite of the bag after bag of fluid they dripped into my veins every day for eight days, the creatinine level in my blood had risen dangerously high. My husband and two daughters didn’t tell me that my square, swollen face made me look like Sponge Bob. Later, I suggested Sponge Bobette, square capris was more appropriate. But right then, I only knew the retained fluid and swelling in my legs was painful. After the ninth day, the nephrologist made it clear that I would have to undergo a dialysis treatment the next day if the creatinine level in my blood was not starting down.

I realized that family and friends from Texas, to Colorado, Ohio to Florida, and Michigan to the north were praying for my speedy post-op recovery. If I could have concentrated, I too would have prayed. Deep inside, I could feel the presence of a spirit that prayed on my behalf. I knew I could not find the words, but the words were there none-the-less.

On the tenth day, my creatinine number began to fall. I transferred from the hospital to a wonderful in-patient rehabilitation unit near our home. That first evening, the treating physician for the rehab facility stopped in to see me. Dr. Mathew, a Christian man, assured me, in spite of all I had been through, I would heal.

Two weeks after my admittance to rehab I had a follow-up appointment with the nephrologist. He reported that my kidneys were fine. I hadn’t had a problem before the surgery and he didn’t expect me to have another one. He smiled broadly and dismissed me as a patient.

Over the weeks in in-patient therapy, I received many get-well cards, words of encouragement, visits from friends and family and reports of prayers going up all over the country for a complete healing of my back. My physical therapy was a little slow at first since I had to regain energy from the kidney failure. Finally, I was able to get to my feet, walk in the halls and sit on the living room side of my hospital suite!

While there, I still struggled with words. Even after I began to regain verbal expression, written words were not there. It was weeks before I even picked up my laptop again. This, from the woman who had written six novels in the last three years! I wanted to write this blog post weeks ago. At first, I’d type a sentence and then lay it all aside. And, that was okay. It was the same with my own prayers. If I couldn’t express a prayer for the healing of my spine, I knew there were hundreds of others praying for me. I had not lost my belief in prayer. I had temporarily lost the ability to express the words of prayer.

Isn’t it wonderful how God provides a whole company of prayer warriors to intercede for us when we need them? Each day my therapist could see improvement and it continues in out-patient therapy. Just weeks ago, I had nearly died and now I can walk, climb three or four steps and I have started the third and final book in the Length of Days trilogy: Length of Days – Freedom Re-born. The words are flowing, with an anticipated completion date by the end of the year, ready for a 2016 launch! The Lord restored my voice, verbal and written, and is healing my back – Praise His holy name!

The evening before dismissal from the Heritage of Huntington, Dr. Mathew came in to see me. His eyes were bright with joy and praise. “Your kidney has healed!” His voice was full of excitement.

“Yes,” I agreed with enthusiasm. “And, the nephrologist said he doesn’t expect it to happen again.”

“No,” he protested with the Holy energy of a found blessing, “your kidney has healed!”

It wasn’t until the next day that I grasped the meaning of what he said and realized the miracle I had nearly missed. I had been praying that my back would be healed and the all-knowing Lord healed my kidney first at the request of the prayers of all those who bowed before him on my behalf. I had put in an order. “One healed spine please” and didn’t even see the miracle of a healed kidney.

We miss many of the blessings given to us when we believe we know our needs better than God and look only for evidence of “wishes fulfilled.” Every time our children awaken in the morning and greet us with a hug and kiss, we have witnessed a miracle. When we bury our head in our cell phone, waiting for a specific answer, we fail to notice the blessings of Love. Don’t miss the awesome miracle of what he has already given us, while hoping to receive our own dreams and desires. Let us pray:

“Dear Father God, Holy is your name and hallowed are each of your blessings. May your kingdom come to live in my life that I may dwell with you. For this day, may I lay my requests aside and rely on you, the wisdom of the ages, to know what is best for me. I even found a four-leafed clover at my feet as I got in the car to go for my follow-up appointment with my surgeon, and acknowledged it as “the Luck of the Irish” and not a promise-sign from you of your presence in my life. While I waited with impatience for the long healing of my back, I over-looked the complete healing of my kidney. How very foolish I can be. Forgive me for failing to see your hand in my life. May I look for you, so that I may see your miracles. In the name of your son Jesus, the great healer and my savior, I pray. Amen”

Doris

"God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine.”

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CATCH UP to Christiana and Jason and their adventures in the year 2112. You'll be ready before the launch of Book 3, Length of Days – Freedom Re-born which is at the end of this year. Subscribers to Kindle e-books can read Book 1, Length of Days – The Age of Silence, free. Non-subscribers can read for $0.99. Book 2, Length of Days – Beyond the Valley of the Keepers eBook is available on Amazon for $3.99.

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Profits will go to a greatly needed shower for the first floor of our home, due to my recent spine surgery. (Doris Gaines Rapp)