Just curious, how many of you believe in a higher power?
- Thread starter Nechochwen
- Start date
I assume the question is "How does one recognize God's miracle when it happens?".
Let me share with you one of the many times it happened in my life..
When I was 1 year old, I was involved in an accident that crushed four fingers on my right hand. My dad was a judge who normally worked at a different province & my mom was a teacher who normally was at work. On that particular day of the accident, my mom happened to be at home sick and my dad was in town for a meeting.
I was playing with the babysitter. When the accident happened, she yelled for my mom who rushed to me & called my dad. Thanks goodness he was able to come home immediately to take me to the hospital, and he was able to call on the top surgeon (who just got back a day before from a study oversea!) to perform an emergency surgery on my hand. Even after all that efforts, it was not obvious if my fingers could be saved or not until a couple weeks later.
My parents told me that was the most stressful & scariest time of their lives -having their baby daughter hook up to a machine (I was unconscious for a while because I lost a lot of blood) with a tiny hand in a cast & not knowing for sure whether or not they could save my fingers. All they had to hang on was their faiths in God that HE would take care of me. They prayed days & nights that I would be alright & that my hand would be saved.
To everyone's surprise, my hand was miraculously heal without any obvious scars, and despite of having artificial "bones" inside, my fingers' mobility and functioning are as normal as can be. To this day, if I don't tell you this, there're no way you can tell that my four fingers had been cut off & put back together!! My handwriting is very beautiful (*blush* - but it's true!). I've had people told me that I write better & neater than the fonts from the computer!!
Anyway, I don't have to look very far to find the "proof" of God & His love for me. All I need to do is look at my hand! Just think about how things all felt into places the way they did - how everyone & everything was exactly where they supposed to be on that day.. If that's not God's miracle, I don't know what is.
Let me share with you one of the many times it happened in my life..
When I was 1 year old, I was involved in an accident that crushed four fingers on my right hand. My dad was a judge who normally worked at a different province & my mom was a teacher who normally was at work. On that particular day of the accident, my mom happened to be at home sick and my dad was in town for a meeting.
I was playing with the babysitter. When the accident happened, she yelled for my mom who rushed to me & called my dad. Thanks goodness he was able to come home immediately to take me to the hospital, and he was able to call on the top surgeon (who just got back a day before from a study oversea!) to perform an emergency surgery on my hand. Even after all that efforts, it was not obvious if my fingers could be saved or not until a couple weeks later.
My parents told me that was the most stressful & scariest time of their lives -having their baby daughter hook up to a machine (I was unconscious for a while because I lost a lot of blood) with a tiny hand in a cast & not knowing for sure whether or not they could save my fingers. All they had to hang on was their faiths in God that HE would take care of me. They prayed days & nights that I would be alright & that my hand would be saved.
To everyone's surprise, my hand was miraculously heal without any obvious scars, and despite of having artificial "bones" inside, my fingers' mobility and functioning are as normal as can be. To this day, if I don't tell you this, there're no way you can tell that my four fingers had been cut off & put back together!! My handwriting is very beautiful (*blush* - but it's true!). I've had people told me that I write better & neater than the fonts from the computer!!
Anyway, I don't have to look very far to find the "proof" of God & His love for me. All I need to do is look at my hand! Just think about how things all felt into places the way they did - how everyone & everything was exactly where they supposed to be on that day.. If that's not God's miracle, I don't know what is.
well my dad is Atheist - maybe his views made more sense than mom's IMO. Mom lives with my husband and i and we totally respect what she believes in and the people around us. It's a matter of fact, I've baptized my nephew and just recently i baptized my friends daughter. Even though religion surrounds me i decided to take a different path for my sanity i guess
Your poll is a little bit confusing...I believe in God/Higher Power than all of us/whatever s/he is being referred to by others but I believe that the term "GOD" is pretty much an abused word. And though I believe in the god that I believe, I am not religious. You do not have to be religious to believe in your "God". And there are a lot of explanation as to what "agnostic" really mean too...
M&M's Mommy... we had a similar thing happen when Hannah was born (not the accident itself but the miracle)
First off let me start with the day I had her.
I was overdue and I saw the Dr on Monday to decide when to induce me. the Dr decided to get me in for an ultrasound to check on Hannah's size but the plan would be to wait until the following monday and induce me then if I didn't go on my own. So I went for the ultrasound and they discovered my fluid was low.
they immediately sent me to labor and delivery to be induced just to be safe. The Dr came in to tell me what exactly all this meant. He said that it wasn't too big a deal but it was better to be safe than sorry when dealing with low fluid because that can really increase the risk of the cord wrapping around the babies neck and tightening while she is in the womb.
My labor went very smooth and Hannah showed little sign of distress which meant the cord was not causing a problem. when Hannah came out (tmi here sorry) they were going to put her on my stomach but... go figure... her cord was too short. The Dr said he had never seen a cord that short before. The exposed cord was a foot long MAX. so with her being positioned the way she was the cord wouldn't have been able to wrap around her neck anyway.
So everything was fine and dandy. He decided to send the placenta for testing just because. they dont' always do this but he thought it might be a good idea.
The next day hannah's pediatrician came to look her over. She had "stork bites" on her face. The Dr said it was nothign to worry about but he wanted to know if we wanted to do a blood test just to make sure everythign was ok. Of course we consented.
I was at the hospital for two days (not including the day of my labor) I was supposed to go home on the second day but the nurses said that there was no rush and urged me to stay an extra day if I wanted to. I decided that might be a good idea so I stayed a third night.
That night... Hannah was having troubles breathing. She was admitted to the NICU at 2 am (I called the nurse so they could do their vitals checks before I fed her). they suspected she had Pneumonia. they were going to do an X ray but they wanted to do a blood culture too that would have to sit for a couple days to see if it would "grow" or some sort of thing.
SO....
If I hadn't gone for the ultrasound theywouldn't have known I had low fluid and I would have had Hannah even later than wednesday and she would have been extremely ill by the time she was born because she was exposed to bacteria because I had a slow leak which caused her Pneumonia.
The Dr sent the placenta for tests which they don't always do. that test came back on the same day Hannah was admitted stating that there was indeed infection present.
We had a blood test done at the peds request... that test was sitting for a few days to see if it would "grow" so we were already two days ahead of a diagnosis because we were spontaneously offered that blood test. so we were able to get the culture sooner than we would have if we didn't have the blood test.
I was supposed to go home the night that she was admitted to the NICU with Pneumonia. her symptoms were very subtle and I had no idea. Imagine how sick she would have gotten if we had gone home.
On top of that... h annah had to stay in the NICU for a week. My MIL flew in the day before hannah was admitted to the NICU and was going to stay for a week. Without her being there I would not have been able to be at the hospital all day everyday to be with Hannah because Brian had to work and I don't have a vehicle.
ALL of those things miraculously fell into place. SOOOO many "coincidences" happened that helped us to get Hannah the care we didn't even know she would need two days before.
it may not sound like much to everyone else... but it was a MIRACLE... PERIOD.
First off let me start with the day I had her.
I was overdue and I saw the Dr on Monday to decide when to induce me. the Dr decided to get me in for an ultrasound to check on Hannah's size but the plan would be to wait until the following monday and induce me then if I didn't go on my own. So I went for the ultrasound and they discovered my fluid was low.
they immediately sent me to labor and delivery to be induced just to be safe. The Dr came in to tell me what exactly all this meant. He said that it wasn't too big a deal but it was better to be safe than sorry when dealing with low fluid because that can really increase the risk of the cord wrapping around the babies neck and tightening while she is in the womb.
My labor went very smooth and Hannah showed little sign of distress which meant the cord was not causing a problem. when Hannah came out (tmi here sorry) they were going to put her on my stomach but... go figure... her cord was too short. The Dr said he had never seen a cord that short before. The exposed cord was a foot long MAX. so with her being positioned the way she was the cord wouldn't have been able to wrap around her neck anyway.
So everything was fine and dandy. He decided to send the placenta for testing just because. they dont' always do this but he thought it might be a good idea.
The next day hannah's pediatrician came to look her over. She had "stork bites" on her face. The Dr said it was nothign to worry about but he wanted to know if we wanted to do a blood test just to make sure everythign was ok. Of course we consented.
I was at the hospital for two days (not including the day of my labor) I was supposed to go home on the second day but the nurses said that there was no rush and urged me to stay an extra day if I wanted to. I decided that might be a good idea so I stayed a third night.
That night... Hannah was having troubles breathing. She was admitted to the NICU at 2 am (I called the nurse so they could do their vitals checks before I fed her). they suspected she had Pneumonia. they were going to do an X ray but they wanted to do a blood culture too that would have to sit for a couple days to see if it would "grow" or some sort of thing.
SO....
If I hadn't gone for the ultrasound theywouldn't have known I had low fluid and I would have had Hannah even later than wednesday and she would have been extremely ill by the time she was born because she was exposed to bacteria because I had a slow leak which caused her Pneumonia.
The Dr sent the placenta for tests which they don't always do. that test came back on the same day Hannah was admitted stating that there was indeed infection present.
We had a blood test done at the peds request... that test was sitting for a few days to see if it would "grow" so we were already two days ahead of a diagnosis because we were spontaneously offered that blood test. so we were able to get the culture sooner than we would have if we didn't have the blood test.
I was supposed to go home the night that she was admitted to the NICU with Pneumonia. her symptoms were very subtle and I had no idea. Imagine how sick she would have gotten if we had gone home.
On top of that... h annah had to stay in the NICU for a week. My MIL flew in the day before hannah was admitted to the NICU and was going to stay for a week. Without her being there I would not have been able to be at the hospital all day everyday to be with Hannah because Brian had to work and I don't have a vehicle.
ALL of those things miraculously fell into place. SOOOO many "coincidences" happened that helped us to get Hannah the care we didn't even know she would need two days before.
it may not sound like much to everyone else... but it was a MIRACLE... PERIOD.
My doctor doesn't believe in God. That's one of the reasons why I go to him. Doesn't cloud his judgment.
I've a question about this. When did they switch from the Old to the New Testament? And what prompted the change? Was it a divine event or did people just go 'well this is too hard, let's make it easier'?
I've a question about this. When did they switch from the Old to the New Testament? And what prompted the change? Was it a divine event or did people just go 'well this is too hard, let's make it easier'?
Well, here's another story, make of it what you will.
Over twenty years ago, my parents died at the hands of a drunk driver in Hawaii. They were cremated and the ashes sent home to me. My parents' wishes were that their ashes be dropped off the suspension footbridge at Preque Isle, in the UP of Michigan. This is a long cable suspension footbridge over a gorge where the Presque Isle River enters Lake Superior. First you have to hike a couple of miles, then you cross the bridge over this wild river that is the color of root beer due to the pine forests it runs through (tannin in the water, not pollution)
by now you have probably figured out that my parents were into nature and wild things. They were proffessional nature photographers, actually. Anyway, i had been to this locastion maybe fifty times in my life. There are bears there, and various fish, and deer.....never saw any other wildlife.
Stever and I and little Rachel stood on the bridge and dropped the ashes over the side. They didn't look the way I expected, they were white, and they sparkled in the sun. When they hit the clear brown water, they turned to gold. Then, a pair of otters surfaced in the river, right among the ashes as they drifted to the bottom. They stayed for a few minutes, together, swimming around, and then they were gone.
This was not a hallucination, they were seen by Steve and a bunch of random hikers. No one had ever seen otters there before. It was really very comforting. And my paernets would have liked to come back as otters, even if only to see me for a few minutes....
Over twenty years ago, my parents died at the hands of a drunk driver in Hawaii. They were cremated and the ashes sent home to me. My parents' wishes were that their ashes be dropped off the suspension footbridge at Preque Isle, in the UP of Michigan. This is a long cable suspension footbridge over a gorge where the Presque Isle River enters Lake Superior. First you have to hike a couple of miles, then you cross the bridge over this wild river that is the color of root beer due to the pine forests it runs through (tannin in the water, not pollution)
by now you have probably figured out that my parents were into nature and wild things. They were proffessional nature photographers, actually. Anyway, i had been to this locastion maybe fifty times in my life. There are bears there, and various fish, and deer.....never saw any other wildlife.
Stever and I and little Rachel stood on the bridge and dropped the ashes over the side. They didn't look the way I expected, they were white, and they sparkled in the sun. When they hit the clear brown water, they turned to gold. Then, a pair of otters surfaced in the river, right among the ashes as they drifted to the bottom. They stayed for a few minutes, together, swimming around, and then they were gone.
This was not a hallucination, they were seen by Steve and a bunch of random hikers. No one had ever seen otters there before. It was really very comforting. And my paernets would have liked to come back as otters, even if only to see me for a few minutes....
The Old Testament covers everything that took place before Christ came. The New Testament begins at Christ's birth and covers everything after. Knowledge of the Old Testament provides the background for understanding the New Testament and knowledge of New Testament provides keys to understanding of Old Testament.
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Who said the Old Testament was "abandoned"?
In every Catholic Sunday Masses when there are two readings, the first one always comes from the Old Testaments. Jesus came to fulfil the laws in the Old Testaments, not to destroy them as He said so himself, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill" (Mt 5:17)
In every Catholic Sunday Masses when there are two readings, the first one always comes from the Old Testaments. Jesus came to fulfil the laws in the Old Testaments, not to destroy them as He said so himself, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill" (Mt 5:17)