It's a miracle!

This past Sunday, I heard a man tell his testimony of how he was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 20, and immediately began chemotherapy, and endured years of trying to fight the cancer.  He talked about how when he finally finished all his treatment and was declared in remission, every once in a while, he would feel a deep sense of gratitude to be alive - like when he watched his sister walk down the aisle, or when he had his first baby.

As he reminisced these feelings of gratitude, it reminded me of my single days.  I used to have a "theory" or rather statement that I talked about frequently. When I was single, I strongly felt that finding the one was like witnessing a miracle. So many "stars" have to align for a marriage to happen. 2 people need to meet somehow; and also be at the right point of their lives where they are ready to be in a serious relationship; and both people need to be in the mature mindset to see and accept each other; and both need to get through enough dating without any outside circumstances to get in the way to derail them; and then both need to have families that will help move them along to marriage; and lastly have the financial means to get married. 

I guess this is why every person before the one is the wrong one. But it's also based on all these stars aligning.  Sy and I often say to each other that if we had met each other years ago, we wouldn't have dated the other.  It was only because we were both where we were when we met that we were open to each other.  I think about my friend who was madly in love with a guy amidst a terrible family emergency.  She was so stressed and emotionally needy that this guy couldn't take the heat. If she hadn't been going through that family situation, would they have survived?  Quite possibly!  But it all depends on all the stars aligning JUUUUUUST right that sparks fly and marriage becomes a glowing dot on the radar.  I used to always cry out - it's a miracle if you find the one!

When I was single, this theory of mine freaked the heck out of me. It was frighteningly daunting to think about my odds of finding love.  And now that I am married (and I won the marriage lottery), I realized how so many other things in life are miracles like this.  You always hear the cliche "a baby is a miracle." And when I was younger, I always thought that was a bit of a dramatic statement. People have babies everyday.  What's so hard about it?  But now, as I am older, I hear countless stories of friends who have trouble conceiving, or fears from nervous mothers that their babies will be born with some kind of defect or illness.  AGAIN - all the stars have to align perfectly for a baby to be born healthy!  A single chromosome can change your life. Everything is so delicately placed into order.  Having a baby is seriously a miracle.  Having a healthy baby is a miracle on top of a miracle.

As this man spoke about how every once in a while, God reminds him of things to be grateful for, I realized that I want to be that grateful for all my own miracles.  It's a miracle that Sy and I found each other and fell in love.  It's a miracle that my sister is pregnant!  There are so many miracles around us that we never notice bc we don't realize how miraculous it was to make it happen. 

I really hope that I don't need a leukemia story of my own to remind me to be grateful every day.  Although, I often look at Sy and feel like he is my own miracle reminder when I reflect back on all the heartache I endured. But in the meantime, let's see the miracles in our lives every day!