Have
you ever witnessed a miracle?
Believe
it or not, most people believe there is a God, but a lot of people don't have
faith because they are always looking for physical proof of his existence. They want to see the magician pull the rabbit
out of the hat before they will even think about believing. God is not a magician. His work is not the sleight of hand. God performs miracles every second of every
minute of every day.
Sometimes
the miracle is so simple it just passes you by. How about the miracle of birth? My wife and I have five children and eight
grandchildren and I witnessed most of their births. The birth of a child is
nothing short of a miracle. A miracle
given to us by God. And as long as we
are talking about birth, what about the miracle of death? Yes, death is also a miracle. I stood at the foot of my mother-in-law’s
death bed. I watched God take her by the
hand and lead her to paradise. It was a
miracle to witness this. Sometimes I
pray for the miracle of death when I know for certain that the person’s quality
of life has been taken away from them. Sometimes death is the best answer.
Two
and one-half years ago my brother-in-law, John, was diagnosed with bone
cancer. On Christmas Eve, 2012, I spoke
with him on the phone. I believed it
would be the last time I would speak to him. He was in a wheel chair and could barely walk. I immediately began to pray. Every hour! I begged God to save John. I
contacted several Fire Chaplains from across NY State and they began to
pray. God provided a miracle for John's
cancer treatments and on Good Friday, 2013, John and I took a mile and a half
walk together. I walked alongside the
miracle that was provided by God.
But,
the story doesn't end there. John is a
retired Forest Ranger who spent several years fighting forest fires out
west. He saved several people caught in
a forest fire by leading them through the fire to safety. A miracle in itself. In the process he seared his lungs from the
heat of the fire. John has had his ups and downs since 2013, but he is
alive. He got the chance to meet his new
grandson, and strong enough to do odd jobs in his community. A few weeks ago, we received a call to travel
to Traverse, MI, where John was in intensive care, in a medically induced coma,
with pneumonia. I again began to pray
and contacted my Fire Chaplain friends again to pray. When we arrived, his condition was very grim
and I was glad we had packed good clothes for what I thought was the
inevitable. John's wife Barbara talked
to the doctor who told her that he did not hold out much hope. Barbara asked the doctor if he had ever
witnessed a miracle. The doctor replied,
"No, I can't say that I have". She told the doctor to stick around and he was going to witness his
first miracle. When I first walked in
his room, I felt a presence that I recognized from other experiences like
this. The presence of God. By the next day, I knew that my brother, John,
was going to get better and walk out of that hospital. By Friday, I knew that God was in control. His bed was surrounded by angels. I told Barbara what I witnessed. I told that her that John was in good hands
and my wife and I left for home. Seven
days after being listed in grim condition and expected to die, the ventilator
was removed. Two days later, John was
sitting in a chair eating solid food. Two days after, John went home. At the time of this writing he is at home recovering from the pneumonia,
living the miracle.
As
firefighters, we must put our faith in God’s hands and ask him for miracles. Miracles for the people we serve, for our
departments, for our brother and sister firefighters, and miracles for our
families. But more importantly don't
hesitate to ask God for a miracle for yourself. He can and will provide. If you
have a burden on your heart, give that burden to God and expect an answer.
William
Miles, Executive Secretary
New
York State Association of Fire Chaplains
William
Miles is a 41 year member of the Sweeney Hose Co. #7, North Tonawanda Fire
Dept. and served as Company Chaplain for 25 years. He is also a 5 year member and Chaplain of
the Niagara Hose Company, Tonawanda Fire Department and serves as Associate
Chaplain of the Tonawanda Fire Department Chaplains’ Corps. William is a member of St. John's UCC Church
of Buffalo, NY. He is also the Chaplain
of the Sons of Amvets Post 13 of Buffalo. He joined the New York State Association of Fire Chaplains, Inc., in
1989, and served as Chief Chaplain from 2006-2008 and has served since 2012 as
Executive Secretary.
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