Miracles...and God DOES Exist

The challenge on Cafe Chat today is to tell of a miracle in my life. As Kim states, miracles come in many forms, some are large and some not so large but all are real.

My dad has had a heart condition for 30 years, but it has mostly been controlled with medication. Last fall, it flared up again and he was hospitalized for 3 weeks before the Drs. decided he needed to have bypass surgery. Dad has had surgery a number of times - just since retirement he has had a hip replacement and gallbladder surgery - but somehow heart surgery seemed way more serious. We all knew that he could die on the operating table or have a stroke as the father of a friend of mine had. The risks are low and bypass surgeries are done all the time without complications but still we worried. We were all praying - all I could pray was that God would guide the Dr.'s hands. Dad was at peace with whatever would happen as he went into surgery - the rest of us were trying to trust God for the outcome. Two of my brothers, an aunt, my mom and I waited at the hospital during the surgery. I remember the relief on Mom's face when the surgeon came to tell us the operation was successful - we were all feeling it. It is now almost 4 months since Dad's surgery and he is doing great, still recovering but it takes 6 months to a year to fully recovery from heart surgery. This summer, Dad and Mom will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and all 10 of their children plan to attend the reunion at a wilderness retreat centre - we currently live in 4 provinces and 2 states. Just before Christmas, Mom had an accident, non life threatening but very painful. That and Dad's illness has made us all realize that we don't know how long our parents will be with us and it has made it even more important for us all to be together for this milestone.

As for the 2nd part of the title of this post, I recently heard that a humanism group in Toronto is putting billboards on the side of transit buses stating "There probably is no God so quit worrying and get on with your life." Apparently the woman who wrote this sentence was tired of people worrying about pleasing (or appeasing?) God and avoiding hell. As one of my coworkers said, "I believe in God so I don't have to worry." Precisely. A few years ago, a different coworker (at a different job) challenged me to prove God is real. I'm not sure what I told him then but I believe that I cannot prove God's existence but He can and has proved His loving existence to me many times. If He were to prove his existence to an agnostic or atheist, though, I am not sure they would enjoy the experience. What I would say to an atheist/agnostic now is this: Suppose for one moment that I am wrong, suppose there is no God. When I die, it would be the end - no heaven or hell - no harm done, so to speak. But suppose I am right and there is a God and if I have lived my life for Him, I do not need to worry about hell - I know I will go to heaven. But what about you, if you are wrong, where will you be?