Happy Memorial Day! Well, actually, it's the day after, but I think I'm still within time boundaries to wish it appropriately. Boy, was this one crazy weekend. The craziness began on Friday as Corey and I took the twins to their 2 month well baby check in the afternoon. They had their checkup (Rayla is 10lbs1oz and Mac is 10lbs13oz), chatted with with doc for a while about "baby stuff" and ended the appointment with the dreaded trio of shots....ugh. I have never heard my babies scream like that and for the first time in all history of shot appointments, I cried. After the appointment we needed to do some shopping for a barbecue we had planned for Saturday. My grandma, her husband and my great grandma were visiting us, so we thought a nice lunch would be a fun thing. We found that some friends of my grandma's were in town, so we told my grandma to invite them for the lunch as well. Saturday we'd have some cooking to do!
After the girls' appointment, and the shopping was done, I rushed home to relieve grandma of her childcare duties with Kate and Cooper. I then had to rush to get ready, as I had planned to go out with some girlfriends that night. It seemed like a mad dash from 2pm on, but as I sat in my comfy chair on the riverside restaurant balcony of the Hood River Inn, the stress of the day began to melt away. The weather was warm, the water beautiful, the company great and the food fantastic.....It made for a memorable, relaxing Friday night. I needed that for the craziness set to ensue to following days.......
Saturday arrived and we all bounded out of bed, showered, ran errands and cleaned. We were ready early, and excited to see all who were coming, especially great grandma Alberta. Last year Alberta had some heart difficulty and landed in the hospital. The end result of that visit was the placement of a pacemaker and some time in a rehab center. She has been in and out of the hospital for ailments ranging from chest pain to foot pain. Just a few weeks ago she was rushed to the hospital for chest pain and shortness of breath. It was found that she had a tear in an artery coming out of her heart and though there was no cure for it, a way to minimize damage was to lower her blood pressure and allow the area to clot so that blood could flow freely. My grandma kept us updated throughout the visit, but we were all beginning to prepare for the worst. The woman is in her 90's, has had so many health trials in the recent past, and was talking like she was ready to go. But, here she was, vibrant and happy, sitting in my living room and holding my baby twins. Grandma has the deepest faith I know and follows God in every aspect of her life. So, was this complete turn around from death's bed the hand of God, or the gift of a pure miracle?
Our uncle Chris was rushed to Portland a couple of weeks ago with what doctors thought was a Thoracic Aneurysm. That is what my grandma suffered. Once he arrived in Portland at Emanuel Hospital it was found that he did not suffer from a Thoracic aneurysm, but an aortic aneurysm, which is significantly worse. He has had heart issues in the past, so I'm told, but this was a new injury. After he was checked out and diagnosed, the doctors felt it best to induce a coma in him to allow time for the tear to heal. No visitors, except his wife and son, were allowed. Two weeks had passed and the doctors had attempted to bring him out of the coma to see how he would do, but all attempts failed.......Until yesterday. Yesterday morning he was brought out of the coma and by afternoon was sitting up in bed eating telling his son that he'd "See Kenny out on the golf course on Thursday." Once again, God, or a miracle?
Also, two weeks ago a family friend was in a tragic farming accident that resulted in the loss of both legs. He had his cell phone with him, which usually isn't the case, and was able to call for help himself. During his whole ordeal he was awake and cooperative. Today he is going through rehab and preparing for life with prosthetics. According to his daughter, who blogs on his progress, he is doing so with an open mind and an encouraged heart. In all reality, this man should have died in this accident. But here I am asking again....Is this God, or something else?
And last there's me. I have a deep respect for powers of the unknown and have witnessed firsthand the gifts and miracles that they bring. One time, for instance, I was looking for a house like the one we planned to purchase back in 2004 that was set so that I could see the final result - I had no address, didn't know the color of the house, but wanted to see it. I headed out into unknown territory, and found myself driving down roads I had never been on, but felt like I had. After a few "gut informing" turns, I pulled up to the house. I was amazed. I drove directly to the house with just instincts.....or was it?
Another incident still blows my mind. I was at the 4 way intersection at the bottom of highway 35, in front of Grace Su's, turning left toward the port from town. There was quite a bit of traffic coming from the south, several cars behind me and two in front of me. The first car in front of me turned left, and the second car went straight. When it was my turn, I didn't go.....I COULDN'T go. My body wasn't physically able to push the gas and go. The driver on my right was waving at me frantically to go, and the man behind me honked angrily. I looked at the driver on my right and just shook my head with a fearful look on my face. I did the same in the rear view mirror to the driver behind me........And as they waved and honked at me, a semi truck came around the corner in front of the lumber store and blew right through his stop sign. Had I gone, I would have been hit directly on the drivers side, and seeing how fast he was going, I probably wouldn't have been alive today to tell this crazy story. It, of course, happened much faster than I explain it, but I wanted to convey every part of what happened. This, believe it or not, is not the only time I have experienced this. So, for the final time this blog, is it God, or a power beyond what we can understand? Did I control my actions and take myself directly to that house, and did I control myself, unknowingly, and not drive in the path of that truck? I guess it all depends on the depths of our faith what we want to believe.
I have come to the conclusion that there are two possibilities: We are either touched by God and our life becomes one of his masterpieces. Or, we are touched by the gift of miracles, which may be unexplained, unbelievable, and at times unreal. I choose not to share my belief, because that's part of my quirky, enigmatic self. But, I think we should all ask ourselves: Are we miracles, or masterpieces?
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