With the
welcoming of 2018, it seems we can’t help but reflect on the past year. While 2017 was a hard year for many people,
for me it will always be a very sweet year.
It’s the year I prayed and fasted and hoped for miracles. It’s the year that I saw these miracles come
to pass.
September 2nd
started like any other Saturday in early September. I was bummed they would be closing the pool
at my apartment complex. I was mourning
the loss of the lazy summer days. I had
decided to spend the day with my sister Camille, enjoying one last taste of
summer. While we were preparing to hit
the pool for the last day of the season, I received a frantic phone call from a
dear friend. She explained to me that
her 19 year-old son, had collapsed at a water park. He had been rushed to the hospital, but things
weren’t looking good. My friend isn’t
very religious, but knew I am and asked that I pray for her son. I agreed to do so, and then, remembering we
had talked about priesthood blessings in the past; I asked if she wanted her
son to have a blessing, and she said yes.
So, within a matter of minutes I was changing out of my swim attire, and
was headed to the hospital where my dad and brother had agreed to meet me.
Upon arriving at
the hospital, I learned just how dire the situation was. My friend’s sweet boy had experienced a
cardiac arrest, and they estimated he had been without oxygen for 10
minutes. He was currently on life support
and unresponsive. When I heard this
news, my heart sank. I knew this boy’s
odds of ever leaving the hospital, less than 1 percent. I wasn’t prepared to watch my friend bury her
son.
After what seemed
like eternity, we were given clearance to see my friend’s boy. There a young kid was lying, surrounded by so
many tubes and wires. I knew I had come
to watch sometime die. At that point, my
dad and brother gave this boy a priesthood blessing. In the blessing, the boy was promised he
would survive and this experience would be a witness of God’s miracles. Hearing these words should have brought
peace, but they only brought frustration.
I had been trained about situations like these. This boy would die. My friend would be devastated. It was a hard reality. So, while my dad spoke sweet words of comfort,
my heart sank. I hoped that my friend wasn’t hearing the
blessing through all the chaos of nurses running around and alarms sounding. How would I ever explain the death of her
son, after the words that were spoken in the priesthood blessing?
After my friend’s
boy received this blessing, I reached out to those who knew my friend and asked
for their fasting and prayers. By the
next day, dozens of people were fasting and praying on behalf of my dear friend
and her son.
The next few days
were the most difficult. I was
constantly calling and texting my friend and visited the hospital daily. And then, a miracle occurred. My friend’s son woke up. And then, he began talking. Soon he was walking. And about a week after he entered the
hospital, this sweet boy went home.
This sweet boy’s
recovery was nothing short of a miracle.
I had always considered myself religious. I always believed I had faith and hope. But in this situation, my secular training
blinded my belief in miracles. I
underestimated the power of God and of the priesthood. And yet, once again, his promises came
through. Even in the middle of what
appeared to be the most dire circumstances.
This experience
with my friend will always be a sweet reminder to me of the power of God’s
promises. This will always be a miracle
I will always hold close to my heart.
And still, it was not the only miracle I experienced in 2017.
You see, earlier
in the year, I had met someone, named Scott, who seemed to be a very nice
guy. I enjoyed talking with him and we
kept in contact despite his busy work schedule.
But then, in early August, he just kinda disappeared after promising to
let me know he had made it home safely after yet another business trip. And so, I wrote him off. I figured he was too busy playing the dating
field and I wasn’t going to waste my time or energy on him. And, by late August, I had almost completely
forgotten about him.
About the time I’d
written Scott off forever, my mom, sisters, and I were discussing our dating
lives and lack of prospects. We were all
frustrated about the lack of good, righteous men. We understood we weren’t getting any younger
and worried that we may never find a good guy to marry. And so, it was suggested that we “Fast for
Men” on the next fast Sunday.
Unfortunately, my
friend’s son collapsed the day before “Man Fast” was to occur and so I called
my mom and sisters and explained I wasn’t going to participate in “Man Fast”
because I had other important things to fast for. They were very understanding, and promised
they would include me in their fasts.
I find it so
sweet, that while I was fasting for my friend’s dear son, and my mom and sisters
were fasting for us to find good, righteous men; that Scott sent me a
text. Initially, I was going to just
delete it, figuring he was just playing the field. But then, I remembered it was “Man Fast” I
just didn’t feel right ignoring a guy when my mom and sisters were fasting and
praying for men to come into our lives.
And so, I responded. And I
explained the situation with my friend’s son.
And I asked him to please pray for my friend and her son, because we really
needed a miracle.
Soon, Scott was calling every day to check on the progress of my friend’s son. And less than a week later, we were going out
on another date. Within a couple of weeks
we were exclusive, spending all of our free time together. And now, we are engaged. On June 9th, I will be sealed to
Scott Reichmann in the Salt Lake Temple for time and all eternity and I couldn’t
be more excited or grateful for him and the blessing he is in my life. I don’t think our meeting or our reconnecting
during “Man Fast” was coincidental. I am
so grateful for the miraculous way he was brought into my life.
Truly, 2017 has
been a very sweet year for me. It was a
year I was reminded of the power of God’s miracles. I was reminded that even when things seem
hopeless, there is hope. God is in
control, and he is guiding our lives more than we’ll ever know. How grateful I will always be for this year,
the year I saw just how aware God is of our lives, the year I saw miracles.
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