by Lori Shevokas

Created on: April 29, 2008

The Closer I Walk to God, the More Visible His Love Becomes:

I remember all the counseling sessions I was forced to endure throughout adolescence, and the one thing every shrink had in common was a question. How do you explain the fact that you are still alive? In my younger days, this was the point where I tuned out the therapist and waited for my hour to be done.

Years later, when I entered the army, the question changed slightly. Instead of "How do you explain the fact that you are still alive?" I was being asked, "How did you get such strong faith?" Of course, I knew I was a Christian, and I knew God had saved my butt repeatedly since the day I was born, but hearing it from another person's perspective, in an atmosphere which did not support "religious freedom" was very awkward.

It never occurred to me that my faith was very strong. I just knew God would take care of me. Then I learned other people didn't trust God the way I did. Some even told me they had never witnessed any miracles- until they met me.

One wandering soul actually returned to church after many years of straying away. She said the fact I was even alive was proof there was a God. I never thought of myself in that manner before, but then again, I see miracles everywhere. This is especially true in hospitals.

Where I once held medical professionals in high esteem, due to the extensive amount of schooling and knowledge I believed them to possess, I have found many lacking lately. At least ten medical professionals of varying levels have admitted to me their lack of knowledge in regards to some very serious conditions, all within the last couple of weeks.

My best friend recently developed complications during her pregnancy. This was something nobody in the medical field could verify until after the delivery went awry and my friend insisted on a C-section to save her baby- who the doctors did not believe was in any danger at the time, except for her failure to drop during labor. In the end, she was rescued from the umbilical cord, which was strangling her, during the C-section. Did the doctor save that baby? No- God did! God told that baby's mother to get help. God kept that baby alive until the doctors could remove her from the womb.

Then my best friend nearly bled to death afterward. Her uterus was not working properly, and an hysterectomy was planned for the following morning. There was much prayer, and the next morning, the doctor on rotation could find nothing wrong with my friend. Of course there was no hysterectomy, and both mother and baby left the hospital in good condition two days later. Miracles happen everyday. We can blame each other if we want, but we must acknowledge that nothing is truly in our control. God has a plan for each of us, and sometimes that means enduring the trials of Job in order to glorify God- not ourselves.

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