I should have written about this earlier, but there are so many factors that God brought together that I'm not sure I yet comprehend them all.  Nor can I really explain in less than a novel-lenght post all the factors that have led us to this place.  But since God does deserve to have His glory shouted, I felt I could not longer keep it just our family's little secret.  I'll try to give you enough details to get the story without dragging it out forever... so here goes.

My dad is nearly dead.  He has been nearly dead for years, literally.  Before my DH and I were married (15 years ago) he had emergency by-pass surgery.  It wasn't the last hospitalization by any means.  Years before that he received the injuries that triggered the whole long chain of events in an explosion that hospitalized him for months and killed two other men.  I guess I'll try to start there and just give you the highlights.

My dad worked at an oil refinery.  One day, it blew up.  He was thrown through the air in flames and over a wall.  Miracle 1- the wall saved him from the remaining flames so he was able to roll around on the ground and as he puts it "quit smoking."  (Yes, he was a smoker prior to these events.) Because of the man he is he bravely/foolishly returned to the flames and tried to save one of his fellow workers.  The young man didn't survive and dad suffered further burns and injuries as a result.  The bottom half of his body was not burnt because he was wearing brand new jeans that day that held up through the flames (#2 for those of you keeping count). 

When he arrived via lifeline at the state's primary burn unit they opted not to treat many of his non-life threatening injuries because he was so far gone that a- they didn't think he could take it and b- they didn't think he'd survive to benefit anyway.  He survived.  (#3)

Skip ahead several years.  My father suffered severe injuries to body, mind and spirit. But he is still "in good health" as compared to what would come later.  On a weekend he and my mother travelled to a park in a neighboring state.  Who knows if they would have had the time to develop the interests that led them there on that Sunday had he been working full time.  They might have already moved away to another part of the country had he retired as he had always hoped rather than becoming disabled.  Nevertheless, the horrible sequence of suffering in his life brought him to that road on that day.  It also brought an 18-wheeler and and motorcycle  to that same stretch of road.  When my parents arrived on the scene the woman who had been on the motorcycle was on the road, dying.  Other witnesses were so frozen in horror that they could do nothing to help her. 

My father, his body still scarred from skin transplants, his arm unable to bend due to the deep tissue damage, his whole mind abhoring the summer heat of a highway, held that woman in his arms.  He kept her body above that hot pavement until the paramedics arrived.  He has been told by all involved that his actions saved that woman's life.  I don't know about her walk with God before that day.  But I know today she contacts my father every year and remembers the Lord's miracle for her on that day.  Dad tells my dd the story as she cradles the guardian angel pin this woman sent him.  (Where were we, oh yes, that's #4).

Now I am sure there are others out there, my dad's not a perfect man.  Actually he's a cantankerous, sometimes bitter and sinful (as we are all) man.  He's pretty "normal" by most standards.  But he also keeps pretty busy, so I'm sure he's been involved in a few other miracles I haven't heard about .  But let's just skip ahead to number 5.  I did promise to try to keep this short. 

Well, maybe there's 5 1/2...

When our third child, now 2 was an infant we thought grandpa was going to die. We actually had our son baptized at my parents' home because dad couldn't leave the house.  The doctors had wanted to send him to a hospice to die at that point, but he insisted on dying at home.  He recovered.  If you haven't noticed yet, he does that a lot.

The man literally has about 1/3 or so of a working heart- maybe less, I don't know.  We joke that he doesn't have one it's so far gone.  Lots of dead tissue in that muscle.  When they sent him home to die, I think he had about 45% lung capacity.  In the story I'm about to tell... it was 30%.

So here's the real #5.  This year our son is 2, we've made it to Florida and back with grandpa twice since this littlest one has been born.  Each year is 12 months of torture to me as we approach the departure date and I wonder if dad's going to make it.  So he makes it up to the departure date, despite the 30% lung capacity.  (Yes, we know- you can't live like that. But somehow he does.)  He uses oxygen, has a wheelchair and huffs and puffs and hurts a lot.  But- Florida with the grandkids.  It must happen so he survives.

Keep reading- here comes the really good part-

The grandparents leave a day early, knowing that travel will be a challenge.  They spend their first night in a hotel and take advantage of the free breakfast in the morning.  My parents notice a couple their age who openly say their morning prayers before eating. Later, noticing dad's wheelchair and oxygen, they ask about his health and he answers.  The couple says (I'm sorry I don't have the direct quote)- We will pray for you today. 

That day, they chose my father to lift up to the Lord.

That night, my parents (along with my sister) spend another night in another hotel.  While my sister and mom are out buying dinner, my father takes his medication.  10 ml of fast acting insulin, 100 of the regular stuff.  Except that's not what he takes.  He takes 100 ml of the fast acting stuff. On an empty stomach.  If you're really curious- research insulin overdose.  I'm sure you can guess though, any medical professional would tell you- that's a potentially fatal overdose.

He nearly died and he sure got a good look at a painful death.  He hallucinated, he was incoherent, he stopped breathing at least 4 times and my mother had to beat on his arms to get him to take in air.  He could hardly move for close to a week and for three days thought he was still in the process of dying.  We told him the name of the grandchild we thought he would be the first to meet.  We discussed what he wanted me to tell the grandchildren.  I braced myself for handling all these family members so far away from home when it happened. 

But you know where this is going, right?  This is a story about miracles after all. 

HE RECOVERED!

The man has next to no lung capacity, barely has a pulse, is diabetic and is covered in skin grafts.  But they prayed for him and he survived. 

He is insulin intolerant and he did eat a meal when my mother and sister returned. Perhaps that's how he survived a dosage of a powerful and dangerous medication that was 10 times the amount prescribed.  But I think we all know the truth.  Never doubt the power of a faithful servant's prayer.

After a week of slow and tortuous recovery, dad started to feel better.  In fact, three weeks later and one week home from vacation, he is now in better health than he was when he left.  He is able to walk sometimes rather than being wheelchair dependent and his breathing is much less labored.  I wonder if his lung capacity has gone back up (maybe to a whopping 40%). 

So again I say, "Never doubt the power of a faithful servant's prayer." 

I don't know the couple who prayed for my father and thus blessed my family (particularly my children)  with another two weeks of time together in Florida and whatever more days we have to come, so I can't thank them for their intercession.  But I do know their Lord and I praise Him for hearing their plea and putting them in my father's life.  Though I know God needs no prayers to heal.  Through this couple, we can all now see clearly God's glory and His work in our lives.  And I can share miracle number 5 with all of you.

If you feel like praying for someone today, don't put it off.  Raise up your heart to your Lord and let those blessings fly free!  If you feel that your suffering in this life can surely have no purpose.  Ask yourself, am I suffering or am I witnessing the birth of a miracle?