What is a Miracle?

What is a Miracle? Each day different people use this word with different meanings and intentions. Often to me it feels as though the word miracle could be replaced with words like Coincidence, Marvel, Rarity, or Surprise. The word miracle also often conjures up an image of God or Gods intervening to cause an event or occurrence to happen. At the root of it I basically hear the word miracle and assume the person is going the route that it is amazing that God (or Gods) were able to step in and fix the problem.

Since returning home from our 4 months in Maryland for treatment I have heard countless times "what a miracle", "you are a miracle", "it is a miracle". So, what exactly is a miracle? This post is, of course, not the end all and be all of the definition of a miracle but simply my thoughts on the word and its meaning.

Is it a miracle when you give birth to a healthy baby? Is it a miracle when you are always late but make it on time to an important appointment? Is it a miracle that in January of this year we were hoping that I would live to see my daughter turn three in June, and then did? Is it a miracle that one team of transplant doctors said they would be willing to do my transplant but given the progression of my disease I would likely not survive, and another team of transplant doctors said we have a research based transplant that we think will help you, and it did? Is it a miracle that we picked team #2 over team #3? Is it a miracle that after almost a year of bad reports and cancer that didn't respond to chemo it looks like I'm going to live a long life anyway?

My quick answer to all of these questions is sort of. And now I shall try to explain.

www.merriam-webster.com defines a miracle in 2 ways:

1). an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs

2). an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment


My diagnosis of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma came almost one year ago. I was 30 years old and as the doctors love to say "otherwise healthy". I was a mother and a wife, a daughter and a sister, a teacher and a friend, and otherwise healthy. Never in a million years did I expect a cancer diagnosis. No one ever does.

Over the past year, I have been listed on dozens of prayer lists at all kinds of religious institutions, both in the United States and some internationally. There have been prayer vigils held in my name. There have been countless fundraisers, gifts, cards, meals, love, and support all from a network that prior to diagnosis I didn't realize was out there. During a great deal of my treatment I prayed and meditated (there were some gaps...God and I weren't on the best of terms for awhile but I think we're better now). Without all of this support, without all of these prayers, would I be here today? There is no way to know. What I do know is that the support and prayers and all the rest of it helped to pull me through a great number of very difficult moments, days, weeks. This is the part that allows me to say yes I am a miracle, my survival today is an ongoing miracle.

But there is another component to the miracle that I can not let go of that to me reaches beyond the dictionary definitions (at least beyond definition #1) and I suppose this is the part where I explain my "sort of" response to the "is this a miracle questions". I have spent the last year working harder then I have ever worked on anything in order to save my life. I have endured countless treatments and procedures (many not so pleasant), I have spent roughly 3 and a half months (not consecutive) as a hospital inpatient. My family and I have been to hell and back, we have lived a nightmare. But today I am here to write about it.

So, do I believe in miracles? Yes I do. But most importantly (to me) I believe that a miracle can not occur without a whole lot of hard work. I believe that there was divine intervention of some sort, I believe that all of the Doctors, Nurses, technologists, aides, and specialists that I have worked with have and continue to have a great deal of responsibility in taking care of my body . I believe that I had and continue to have a great deal of responsibility in taking care of my health and body to continue this miracle that is my life.

I guess I like definition #2 a bit better.

What is your miracle? And how do you define it?