Miracles, have you ever experienced one?

We've all had our share of strange experiences in life and I'm sure many have had experiences where we've come close to death only to escape unscathed somehow. This article brought back memories of times in my life that I avoided disaster but, can't explain just how.

Myth, Magic and Miracles

A friend of mine told me a miracle story last evening. He was driving along the road in the right lane. Two cars were beside him in the left lane. The road was in a suburban area. Ahead on the right he spotted a mother walking a dog coming in the direction facing him. Beside her was a young child jumping and playing. As he approached them, with the two cars still in the left lane beside him, the child suddenly jumped from the sidewalk directly into his path. He swerved left to avoid the child, knowing that he would collide with both cars to his left. He realized instantly that he would probably be injured or killed. He successfully avoided the child, but there were no cars to his left. They had disappeared. He swerved back into his lane and a few hundred yards further stopped at a traffic light. The two cars that had been at his side, were at his side again and pulled up and stopped just as he did.

So what happened? A conventionally religious person would say, “The guardian angels prevented this accident from happening! Praise the Lord!” I’m good with that. A New Age prognosticator might say something like, “In any one place the good vibrations of people who live well generate positive dynamic synergies which work together to sometimes produce extraordinary suspensions of the usual laws of physics, and this is what we call a miracle.” Whatever.

Patheos

This reminded me of two incidents that happened while I was dating my wife. The first happened while I was driving her home one night, it was foggy out and suddenly, an Irish Setter appeared in front of my truck, out of nowhere, running down the middle of my lane. I swear, it was just feet from my bumper when I swerved to avoid it. I was so certain that I had to have hit it that I turned back around to try to find its body on the road. We drove back up and down the road several times but, saw no sign of the dog again.

The second incident occurred while her and a few of my family members were driving to the state fair when suddenly, a bicycle shot out from an apartment complex driveway, directly in front of my truck. I swerved as quickly as I could but, can't for the life of me figure out how I managed to avoid him. When I checked the rear view mirror, the kid was riding his bike down the street behind me, casually, as if he hadn't just come that close to dying.

While I do consider myself to be a pretty good driver, I don't claim to have any type of lightning fast reflexes and, from my point of view, both that dog and the kid on the bike should be dead today, unless something intervened.

My mother tells me a story of a time, when I was a toddler, in which I fell down a full flight of wooden stairs and got up without a scratch or bruise. It would have been easy for me to have broken my neck in that fall but, it seems something was protecting me that day.

Does anyone else have similar experiences to share?

I think there is some type of power out there that intervenes, erratically it seems, to protect lives from certain danger, pulling them out of the way or somehow making them immune from injury. Other times, even the most innocent become victims of senseless accidents or violence. Whatever it is that protects people, it either can't be there for everyone or is following a script we cannot comprehend to protect those who will have a greater role to play, maybe at some uncertain point in the future.

I should be dead. A few months ago, my boyfriend and I were driving down this country road (he was driving). He tried to overtake a car in front but didn't see the warning sign warning of a hidden dip in the road. As he pulled over to overtake, another car appeared in front of ours. I remember seeing the woman in the car with a look of total shock on her face and I remember thinking, "We're dead."
Somehow - the boyfriend's very quick thinking - and we were back on the right side of the road and the worst damage was our mirror hit theirs on the way past.

'Miracle' might be an understatement. :-)

i almost died more than once, but one that sticks out is when i was driving in a canyon that has claimed the life of 5 or 6 people that i knew through out my life and injured more, i was tired fell asleep woke up just in time to avoid going off the cliff into the water, i was saved by something not of my own energy working through my sub conscious, but then again there is always the mathematical odds of me randomly waking up just in time, the realm its a funny thing

reply to post by FortAnthem


I don't know if they qualify as miracles, I'll give 2 or 3 anyway, here goes....

When I was about 8, my little brother was about 2, and I talked him into crawling up on top of a plastic yellow and orange car and looking over the edge. I promised to catch him if he fell. Well, he fell, head first, and I couldn't catch him, and his little head smashed to the concrete below, and he laid lifeless. My mom came running and picked him up, and he was starting to turn blue, and the front of his head was caved in. She ran him to the kitchen sink, ran his head under cold water, massaged his arms and legs, and pumped on his chest, and prayed, and prayed, and massaged, and prayed, etc. After some bit of time he got a little color back, and then he started to breath, and finally he started to cry. His head then began to swell profusely and blood was pooling above his eyes, and bruises forming down both cheeks. She grabbed a towel full of ice, put it on his head, and drove to the ER with him in her lap, praying the whole way. By the time the docs looked at him, the swelling was going away, and the docs didn't believe her story of the severity of the situation. They X-rayed him, and said he might have a slight concussion. They gave him children's tylenol, told her to keep the ice on it, and sent him home!! From lifeless and blue, to tylenol and ice.

There was another time I've talked about before on ATS, when a kid ran right at me emptying his gun until he ran out of bullets, and nothing hit me, and he found himself standing within a couple of feet of me, with no more bullets, and nothing had hit me, my friends, or my car. He was probably just a terrible shot, but it still felt miraculous!

My youngest son is certainly a miracle. He was born at 28 weeks, weighing only 2.0 lbs. He suffered for 3 months in the NICU, and then had to be life-flighted to a better hospital to get a surgery that only a couple of doctors in the whole country were willing to try. He made a full recovery, but then at 5 months old he developed terrible seizures called "infantile spasms." His prognosis was bad and worse. They said he might survive several years, but would probably never walk or talk. Instead, through a lot of prayer, doctoring, and every therapy you can think of, he made a full recovery and he is a healthy 4 year old monster these days without a single lasting effect. He no longer takes any medications, he is a regular, healthy boy, and he is even almost to the normal area on the growth charts for a kid his age. He is already learning to read and write, and he is on a T-ball team. He wasn't supposed to survive the birth, or the surgery, or the seizures, but he is a little stick of dynamite, whom my father nicknamed "Sparky" when he was barely a year old, and now it seems to be the perfect nickname as he can't stay out of trouble!

From This (this is not a camera trick, my hand is directly above him)


To This!!

Yes. Three times I've had direct divine intervention for sure. Not 'miracle cures' like that ... but absolute direct supernatural happenings responding to my need at the time. But then all the other times I've needed intervention .. nothing. So I'm not sure why they happened those times and not others.

reply to post by FortAnthem


Like others have posted above, I *should* be dead by now. For me, to the count of 3 times.

I'll share the experience that has the most clarity for me:

I was in undergrad university with my boyfriend at the time. He was driving on a 4-lane highway at 55 mph, and an elderly woman pulled right out in front of us. Of course, he slammed on his breaks but that didn't prevent the total collision. Apparently, my head hit the windshield, and later I was told that I was found in a "fetal" position on the car's floorboard. My bf saw blonde hairs (mine) streaming down from the windshield, and was coherent for most of the time. All in all, I was "unconscious"/knocked out for over an hour.

I don't remember anything having to do with the auto, but I do remember a moment in the ambulance. We can't get a pulse, the EMTS kept repeating. I was looking down on myself and could see myself with open eyes, thinking, "I can hear you, so certainly I must have a pulse," and tried to utter this to them but the words couldn't come out of my mouth...I wasn't able to speak.

At the same time, this wonderful life light was pulling at me from above.

Finally, at the hospital, more than an hour later, I was back...

A miracle in my book...

reply to post by getreadyalready


The first two sound like definite miracles. Your brother being dead with a bashed in skull and some fool charging you, shooting off a full clip with nothing hitting you or anyone else is surely miraculous.

The one about your son sounds like typical medical pessimism. It seems like, when it comes to new life, its almost like they're rooting for the kid to die.

I have a friend who got pregnant young. She went to the doctors and they ran some tests and determined the baby had some type of defect that would have killed her shortly after birth. She chose to abort the baby. It was a very traumatic experience for her; she even had the fetus buried and visits the grave of baby Jessica every year on her "birthday".

When she became pregnant again, the doctors found the same defect in her new baby. Remembering how much pain her abortion caused, she decided to carry the baby to term. He was born perfectly healthy and has had no medical problems throughout his life. Several years later, she got pregnant again and, you guessed it; the doctors (at an entirely different hospital and region of the state) determined that the new baby had the same fatal defect and pushed her to abort. She had another perfectly healthy baby.

When it comes to very young life, I would never trust the prognosis of a medical professional. they always downplay the odds and its often the willpower of the parents and their determination to see that their children get the care they need that carries them through.

The Lord healed my Mom of diabetes. Among other healings she experienced.

My son had a heart attack and was in a coma. Getting the call at 2:00am, I showered to head to the ER. I begged God, please don't let him die now, give me a chance to heal our relationship otherwise I don't think I can handle his death.

He was in a coma for three days and came out, groggy at first but minimal brain damage. He lived another two years during which we reconciled and healed our relationship.

I could go on and on. Eventually you realized that everyday is a miracle, everything you see around you is provided through grace from God. Sometimes miracles are more noticeable when they defy all statistical odds. Other times they are completely against nature and cannot be explained any other way.

Yes my family has truly been touched by a miracle My mother worked at the trade center on 911 She first called me after the first plane hit to tell me what happened and not to worry they were staying put and all was fine As the situtation worsened she called various times each time stating they were ok. As I watched on tv I knew it was far from fine but typical odf my mother not to want anyone to worry. The last I got from her was about 15 maybe twenty minutes prior to collaspe and at that point I was going nuts and telling her to leave immediately. Once the tower collasped I freaked believeing she was still in it I didnt hear from her for 6 of the longest hours of my life I true thought she had been killed. When I picked up the phone I heard her voice and couldnt believe it. It was almost impossible timing wise. That last thing she remembers is being in a stairwell thinking of her grand children and much she loved them The next thing she remembers is sitting on a park bench in midtown hours later has no idea how she got out or anything. Completly mentally blocked out. Borrowed a ramdom stranger cell phone call and made her way home and is truely a miracle I wish more people received such miracles that day.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
But then all the other times I've needed intervention .. nothing. So I'm not sure why they happened those times and not others.

That's the most frustrating thing about it sometimes. There's no rhyme or reason to it apparently, at least none that we can comprehend.

We just have to take it on faith that God has some master plan and the times he didn't intervene helped to move us along the path we were meant to travel. I just wish He would send me down the path of a mega lottery winner.


I remembered another friend who had a son who was born with some sort of muscular or skeletal deficiency. He required braces on his legs in order to walk and the docs ( ) told his parents he would always have need help getting around. By the time he was three, he had cast aside the leg braces and was running around like any other rambunctious little boy. Now, he's still pretty skinny but, shows none of the problems the doctors had predicted for him.

It could be another case of medical pessimism or it could be a miracle, who knows. Maybe my medical pessimism diagnosis for cases like this is rooted in bitterness for my friends loss of her daughter and is resulting in me being unable to recognize miracle healings of children.

I had been thinking real real hard about this'un, and the -only- miracle that happened to me, is when disability came through for me, and only in 3 months. It is thee only real good thing that has ever happened to me, in my whole entire long life.

reply to post by FortAnthem


I have a story... Some might not consider it a miracle but I do!

When I was a little over a year old, I fell into our swimming pool and lost consciousness under the water. My mother and father found me a few minutes later and pulled me from the water.

My dad says he will never forget looking down at me through the water; my blank eyes staring back at him.

Due to a series of odd events (they couldnt find the car keys ect), my dad ended up running with me in his arms to the hospital, stopping every few moments to perform CPR on me. I coughed up the water not long after we reached the emergency room.

If my parents had found the car keys and driven me to the hospital I would have died. It was the motion of running with me in his arms, my chest thumping on his shoulders as he ran that forced the water from my lungs... The keys were on the table in the kitchen, in a plain view but they just didn't see them...

Chance maybe? In their panic did they just not see the keys?
Or did someone or something intervene that day?

Who knows? I'm just glad I'm here

I had a molar that was hurting and if it would have hurt one more day I would have gone to the dentist. But on that day I was almost killed by 3 guys who thought I was a snitch (which I wasn't). They had beaten me with a metal stick, smashed several bottles and 2 acoustic guitars on my head, got attacked with an Axe before I managed to flee. Later, the state attorney called it a miracle I survived the attack with only minor injuries. The next day the molar didn't hurt anymore, it took 3 months before it started to hurt again and had to let it remove.

Awesome stories everyone.

Two babies returned from the dead, a couple of car crash near misses, a 9-11 teleportation and most impressive of all; disability approved after only 3 months

Keep 'em coming folks, this is one of the best reads I had in a long while.

Ar the age of six, I had just learned how to ride a two-wheeled bicycle. This was back in the 60s. We had these cool Schwinn "Stingray" bikes. I was in a neighbor's steep driveway, and started coasting down toward the street.
Like a complete idiot, I was looking at the bike's handlebars or something, and ignoring the approaching street.
(It wasn't a busy street, but a side street, although it still had a fair amount of traffic.)

A neighbor guy was driving too fast (he was late for work or some appointment) and I rolled right in front of him.
He slammed on his brakes and stopped instantly. He was so close, I saw the horrified look on his face.

Two things lead me to believe a miracle happened. (Even if it was a minor miracle) The guy jumped out, made sure I was OK, then said something like. "What the heck stopped my car?" No skidding or sliding at all, simply an absolute instant stop which seemed to defy physics. (Although I didn't really understand at the time.)

A neighbor lady who witnessed the whole thing told me "Your guardian angel stopped that car!"

I was coming up on a very sharp curve on a two-lane highway out in the country when I heard a voice tell me to STOP! I thought, 'Did I just hear that, or am I losing it?' Again, it shouted at me, "Pull off the road as far as you can, and stop!!" It was so demanding, I did as it said. Just then a big logging truck came around the curve on my side of the road! If I hadn't pulled over in the grass as far as I could, I would have been hit head-on, and probably killed!
Definitely Divine Intervention!

There was a very narrow two-lane bridge on the road going from town to the house I grew up in. One day my sister, cousin, and I were going to town in my sister's car, and my girlfriend and her husband were following behind us in their V.W. Beetle. As we approached this narrow bridge we saw a semi tractor-trailer in front of us that was stopped at the beginning of the bridge. He was waiting on another semi to cross coming from the other direction. There wasn't enough room for both to pass at the same time. As the approaching semi reached the end of the bridge my girlfriend came up behind me, and passed us in the other lane as we sat waiting for the semi to exit the bridge. I was yelling at them (although they couldn't hear me), "STOP! STOP! AHHHH!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!" There was absolutely no way her car could have made it through the space of the stopped semi, and the one coming off the bridge. I watched wide-eyed in fear of seeing my friend killed before my eyes! All of a sudden she was on the other side of the narrow space between the two big trucks, safe without even a scratch to the car! 'This was IMPOSSIBLE, but I saw it with my own eyes!', I thought to myself. Everyone in our car was in awe of what just happened.
When we all reached the other side of the bridge my friend had pulled off at a wide place off the road. I pulled up behind her and asked her what happened. She said her brakes went out. All she could do was go around us, or hit us in the rear of our car, so she went around. When she saw the situation ahead she said she knew she was about to be hit head-on by the semi, so she let go of the steering wheel, put her hands over her face, and waited for the crash. When it didn't happen she looked up and they were in the middle of the bridge unharmed! She took a hold of the steering wheel again at that point.
Her husband couldn't stand up for awhile because his legs were too shaky to hold him. They were both shaken up, to say the least, but after awhile, we all got back on the road. Her brakes didn't give any more trouble after that. Hummm... quantum jumping? Whatever happened to save them, it was definitely a miracle!
Also, an angel had to be steering the car to keep them from going over the side of the high bridge until she took the wheel again.
An awesome event to witness, for sure!

When I was in my early teens I went swimming in the river with a bunch of friends. We all started out at an isolated area above where we were parked, and swam down to the parking area. Everyone had already made it to the small sandy area where we were going, but the current got me and pulled me out, and under the water. I remember thinking, 'this is how I'm going to die'. I was fighting from panic, and I hollered out, "HELP!!", when I came to the surface, and then I got pulled back under again. While I was under the water I heard a calm, loving voice in my head that said, "It isn't your time yet. Stop fighting the water, and just relax. You'll be okay."
So I stopped fighting, and I floated to the surface.

When I opened my eyes one of my friends had swam out to get me. He reached for my arm and pulled me out of the current, and we made it to the river's edge. The rest of my friends watched in stunned awe! The guy that came after me said when I got pulled back under the second time I barely missed hitting my head on a big boulder! If I had, I would have been knocked out and drowned.

So, yeah, a miracle my friend could even get to me in the heavy river current to save me, and a miracle I didn't hit my head when I went under the second time!

I have always felt that my guardian angel is always with me, protecting me when I need it.

I experienced many but here are two of the more recent:

On October 19th last year a bird, i think a sparrow, appeared from nowhere and was flying through my living room. I opened the patio door and let it fly out.

The next day Moammar Kaddafi was dead.

On December 17th last year a fat housefly came into my house just as I was walking through the front door. I chased it around the house for a minute and ended up smooshing it on the patio window with the wifey's houseshoe.

The next day Kim Jong Il was dead.

Now I sit around waiting for the next insect or bird to come into my house so when I either smoosh it or let it out...that I can see which world leader will cease to exist.

My story is by no means a miracle or very intense compared to some of your stories but I'll tell it any. I was up at my cabin mowing the lawn. I was about 12 years old at the time. We had an old mower and the lawn wasn't very even. It kept getting stuck and I'd have to kick it. Well one time I kicked too low and my foot went under the mower and got hit by the blade. Nothing happened though except for a sore foot. I more attributed this to the fact that I was wearing my ADIDAS Superstars at the time which are basically rubber shoes. Anyone want to ask me what my favorite shoe is? Not a crazy story but 12 years later and I still get the chills thinking about how lucky I was not to lose half my foot.