Miracles – A Road to Recovery

A beautiful life lesson for me has been the acceptance that miracles are born through impossible circumstances. Most of us are lovers of miracles and are uplifted when hearing of one. However, in a sprit of truthfulness, we do not desire circumstances where nothing but a miracle can help our love ones or the difficulty we face.

More often than not, in this condition, we are looking into the face of pain or a disaster and a miracle is required for recovery. A statement frequently heard in stressful situations is, "a miracle is needed." Miracles are often birthed through the tragedy of pain, loss, sickness or a perceived impossibility.

Of course, there are the miracles that surround us daily such as the glorious sunsets, the colorful rainbow, that vibrant rosebush growing wild among thorns and rocks and, the greatest miracle of all – the creation. I describe a miracle as that which appears improbable, unrepeatable and unexpected. Like many others, I have been the recipient of miracles in my life.

While miracles change the situation we face, they may also change the beneficiary. I spent a lifetime wishing for a gift from my father who died in a naval explosion four months before I was born. This simple, but impossible desire of a little girl for a gift from her father eventually became the doorway to depression in my adulthood. Clearly, since he died before my birth, there was never going to be a gift from him. Only a miracle could remedy the situation.

The miracle was granted and I received that special gift from my father. While it was given in a different way, I was the recipient of his gift. With it, I was given the consolation that I desperately needed and was able to accept his death – two pieces that had been broken my entire life. The miraculous gift was a teddy bear. The teddy bear was the first of three gifts that drew me from depression. A significant lesson has been understanding and accepting that our greatest gains often come through experiences in our lives that may be extremely painful.

The gifts were life-changing and have freed me to help and give to others. Recovery allowed me to fulfill a life-long dream. I founded a nonprofit foundation and a company that sells products and services to help others in need, particularly children. My teddy bear, the gift, is named Collemore. Now he is a source of joy for children going into foster care through the nonprofit's "Help The Bear" program whose primary focus is to soothe the heart of a hurting child.

I now understand that miracles are born of life's impossibilities and through them we become strengthened.