Miracle

mir·a·cle (mĭr'ə-kəl) n.

An event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God. One that excites admiring awe. See Synonyms at wonder. I've been thinking a lot about miracles lately. And praying for them, too. A friend mentioned to me today that she's praying for the same miracle that I'm praying for, but that she has "to admit it's a real long shot". Her all-too-honest comment, made me go look up the definition of "miracle" - above, for us all to read. Implicit in the definition, "inexplicable by the laws of nature", is that a miracle is a long shot. Somehow, this actually makes me feel better and helps me put my hope in solely and exclusively in God. This morning, at 2:03am, my friends' 4 year-old son, Liam McNassar, received his miracle. Bone marrow, from a donor known only as Mr. 37###, was infused into Liam over a 30 minute period. It was truly a miracle. Liam was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in May. He was in dire need of a bone-marrow transplant. No one in his family was a match. In fact, no one on the National Marrow Registry was a match. Liam's family and friends sponsored bone marrow drives to no avail. And then one day, a miracle! Mr. 37### was a perfect match! Why did Mr. 37### join the registry at this time? Why hadn't he joined earlier? Why didn't he delay registering? We'll never know, nor does it matter. Suffice it to say, it's all on God's time -- for that is truly where the miracle lies. (Please continue to pray for Liam and his family; they still have a long road ahead of them. Please pray, too, in thanksgiving for Mr. 37### and his generous and miraculous gift.) I'm praying, too, for my dear Fr. Tom's miracle. I'm not the only one. Thousands of people, literally all over the world, are praying a perpetual Novena to Blessed Teresa of Calcutta for Fr. Tom's miracle. Fr. Tom is a deeply spiritual man who is accepting his suffering with grace and strength. Fr. Tom's cancer is advanced and chemotherapy is limited in its action. My hope for Fr. Tom lies in God and in God alone. May God grant him the miracle for which we're all so desperately praying.