by Renee Cox

Created on: November 04, 2008

Recently, I attended a funeral service. It was for the nephew of a long-time close friend whose young relative had died in a private plane crash along with his best friend. Although my friend is in his seventies now, I still could not believe how weak and emaciated he looked since the last time I'd seen him three years ago at my daughter's wedding. Yet, when I think about it, the truly amazing thing is that my friend, Ivan, has lived through many miracles reminding me of the proverbial cat with nine lives.

When he was a young military father of five, only 37 years of age, Ivan suffered his first heart attack. At that time, he underwent a triple by-pass operation and, since that time, he has been so very close to death on several occasions, only miracles could possibly have saved his life. I recall a visit to the Veteran's hospital a few years back, when he'd been told that his heart was operating at 13% capacity. He had already had a pacemaker implanted and replaced; and now he was given another device implantation to maintain a viable sinus rhythm. That device, too, had to be replaced later, and Ivan survived against all odds. He and his wife are people of great faith and spirituality and know that all the miracles could only be the result of their prayers and faith and the faith and prayers of many others. These experiences emphasize the amazing part that faith and spirituality can play during challenging and difficult times.

I have another friend, Regina, who is in remission from breast cancer after having had to drive herself to and from chemotherapy in 2006. During this time her young husband, only 38, suffered a heart attack while on layover in Hawaii. Through their great faith and confidence in their knowledge of spiritual matters, both are now in good health.

A positive relationship between healing and faith-and ways in which the power of prayer, meditation, and the seeking of spiritual meaning and power can affect the healing process-are evidenced in not only physical healing, but also other miraculous victories over emotional, mental and spiritual challenges. These are the things we must strive to recall whenever we feel out of control in those areas. We must not waste our necessary energies on things we cannot do anything about. My favorite prayer is the 12-step popular "Prayer for Serenity": "Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

Another tool to help us through our difficult and challenging circumstances is the gift of humor. Christopher Reeve is a prime example of this. He learned years after his tragedy of falling from a horse that as he began to adjust to his new life he "learned that humor was the best way to channel anger."

And there is inspiration to be found in all of life's vicissitudes. Dorothy Canfield Fischer said, "It is not good for all our wishes to be filled; through sickness we recognize the value of health; through evil, the value of good; through hunger, the value of food; through exertion, the value of rest." So the balance lesson might be to never take our blessings for granted on the one hand, and on the other hand pray like everything depends on God and act like everything depends on you and me.

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