Nearly forty years ago, my wife and I faced one of those moments that every parent dreads. Our curious three-year-old daughter reached up to the kitchen bench and put her finger into a cup of tea that had just been poured and pulled it over onto herself. It scalded her arm and, within seconds, a blister the size of an egg appeared. Straight away, we put ice and Lourdes water onto the blister, and I took her immediately to the hospital, praying all the way. The nurses and doctors began their work immediately. One of the doctors took me aside gently to give me the diagnosis. He had seen many of these before. Our daughter would be in great pain and would have a very uncomfortable night. There would also be a disfiguring scar that would remain permanently.
The first strange thing about this, however, was that none of what he told us would happen ended up being true. Our daughter was not at all distressed and said that she was not feeling any pain. We returned daily to the hospital to change the dressing on the wound, but it seemed to be healing far more rapidly than expected. The doctors were baffled. Some weeks later, no discernible scar remained. We were witnessing a miracle, and I was forthright in my praise for the goodness of God to all who would listen. It was then that I discovered an unexpected phenomenon. Most of the people I told about this were able to recount stories of their own personal miracles. Could this be true? Were miracles far more common that I had thought? Does God really intervene in our lives continually? Apparently, he does. And I have experienced many more of these inexplicable events over my lifetime.