I believe God performs miracles today. Every time I see a man or woman set free from addictions, when I see the restoration of broken relationships, when I see lives transformed through the power of the cross, I know a miracle has occurred.

I know God performs miracles today. The reason I know this is because I am here writing this. That may not seem like a miracle to you, but it is. For those who know me, they know that writing is an integral part of my life; one which I no longer take for granted. I admit, I find it far more challenging than I used to but I consider it a great honour to be able to contribute in this fashion.

May 21 was a day I will never forget. It began as an ordinary day but then it became rather extraordinary for me. After a lunch with a friend, I headed back to the office with focused energy on all that needed to get accomplished. But none of those things got accomplished as I was rushed to emergency with a Transient Ischemic Attack. The symptoms soon passed but I was told to remain in the emergency waiting room until I saw a doctor. About two minutes later, the symptoms began to come back but before I could wheel my chair over to the nursing station, my whole left side had gone numb and I couldn’t move. They rushed me through admission as they recognized the signs of a stroke.

I was admitted to the hospital as they could not figure out what caused this stroke to happen. My vitals were all healthy and normal for a 39-year-old woman. They would have to do more tests. A few days later, on May 25, another stroke occurred while I was still in hospital. As I lost feeling in my left side, and then my right side, I kept alert, talking to those around me and describing what was happening to my body. I admit that I was rather anxious about this but tried my best to remain calm and focused on relaxing. As I lay there praying to God, words of a chorus brought reassurance to me: “Rest the Lord is near, refuse to fear.” As I hummed that refrain over and over, I knew that whatever the future held, God’s hand was on me.

It is a miracle that I have recovered from these incidents with only minor deficits. I know it could have been much more severe and I thank God for the miracles he still performs today.

The doctors eventually found that I was born with four holes in my heart that I never knew about. After stabilizing me on proper medication, they referred me to a cardiologist and then a cardiac surgeon. Now, as I await surgery, I am confident in God’s omnipotence and his presence. No matter what the future holds, I know I am in his hands.