My Friend, The Miracle

My friend, M.C., is family. That’s the easiest way to describe her relationship with me. We first met when we worked together on Hilton Head. M.C. is one of those really beautiful people who is also incredibly genuine and seeks to make others feel special. She’s the kind of friend you would want to have in your life. Within months of me leaving Hilton Head, my parents moved there. M.C. and my mom became friends and had lots of fun together. M.C. was one of my bridesmaids in my wedding. She was the person my mom and I would always try to have lunch with when I came to visit my parents. More than once, we celebrated Christmas Eve dinner with my family and she and her husband. Five years ago, when I got the call that my father had died, and we were rushing to leave DC and drive through the night to South Carolina, I immediately called M.C. I asked her to go and be with my mother until we got there. And she did. She dropped everything and stayed up with my mother until 4:30 a.m. when we arrived. She has celebrated weddings with my family, supported us through a funeral, and rejoiced with us over the birth of babies. We have laughed together and cried together. And have just enjoyed knowing each other.

However, recently she faced a trial that would bring anyone to their knees. See, M.C. had been having headaches for about a year. She didn’t think that much of it. Then a couple weeks ago she went on a cruise with her husband and things got very bad, very fast. She couldn’t find her way back to her room. She couldn’t figure out how to turn off the shower. Her headaches were terrible and when she had them, she couldn’t speak in a way that made sense.

When she returned home, she went to the doctor, who sent her for tests. The news she received was stunning. She had a brain tumor the size of an orange, and it could rupture at any time. The doctors didn’t want her to go home; they wanted to operate immediately. She was told she may not be able to speak or walk after the surgery. She decided to take a couple days, enjoy a weekend at home in her own bed and get her affairs in order.

Then on a Monday morning two weeks ago, she had brain surgery. Her doctor and nurses gently tied braids in her hair to make room for the incision. She was in surgery for hours. And at the end of it, the doctor was pleased. They got it. They got all of it. And within minutes of coming out of surgery, M.C. was chatting with the nurses. In a couple days she was home. Within a week, she was walking into her monthly game of Bunko to see her friends.

So yes, by any definition, this is an amazing story. But the most interesting part is what happened Monday night in the hospital. M.C. couldn’t sleep so she told me she spent most of the evening laying in her bed, talking to God. And she said God shared some things with her that changed her way of thinking. She told me that God explained to her that life is really about just one thing: love. Love and forgiveness. It’s pretty simple and we, as humans, make it all much more complicated that it needs to be. If we could just focus on loving others and forgiving those we need to, we would be living a life that is a lot closer to what God intends.

So what came out of M.C.’s experience? So much has already. Just in the days leading up to her surgery, as the news of her brain tumor spread, an entire community of friends rallied around her and prayed for her. Relationships were repaired. People spoke words of love and support to each other. Old friends found each other and restored their ties. And at the news of her successful surgery, the faith and hope of many was renewed. And much is still to come.

I think sometimes, the reason that God allows something in your life that may seem horrible at the time is to provide an opportunity to show Himself in that situation. And every once in a while, the rest of us need to be reminded how great our God is. The miracle of my friend not only blessed her family, but it also blessed the hundreds of people who know her, and it will continue to bless people for a long time. God used M.C. for His purpose and truly, there isn’t much more that we can hope for on this earth than that – that we would be someone God can use.