Miracles!

Many of you know our daughter Ana.  Here she is with one of her friends at a dance.  She loves to dance!  I usually call her Anababe but each day seems to bring a new name of affection and joy.  She is a gem!

You can read about her early life and our personal journey in the book titled Ana's Voice: When God Speaks Through A Silent Child.  There are copies in the church library or you can get an official Ana autographed copy by stopping in at my office or sending me an email.

But this is not about selling books, it is about miracles.  Ana is our miracle.  She was fragile and frail as an infant but today she is full of life.

One of the major obstacles she faced as a child was a small amount of contaminated blood.  There were lots to nasty things floating around in that blood but the most significant element was a cluster of cells that are make up something called Human Immunodeficiency Virus.  Most of us just call it HIV.

I remember 1984 when Ana arrived here in our home.  Many folks were scared.  Those were days of fear that was stirred by a lack of information.  HIV/AIDS simply meant death.  And no one really wanted to be around.  Even the brave were a bit frightened.  But Ana is a really great teacher. She smiles with a shy grin. She didn't know that her blood was deadly or that people found her a tad intimidating.  She was just trying her best to make sense out of a life that was turned upside down with a move from a Romanian orphanage to a home in Colorado.

Then along came Dr. Myron Levin and the Denver Children's Hospital CHIP Team.  They developed a plan, started on a course of treatment, studied every step, and became a core part of our support system.  Today, 18 years later, they are still standing with us every step of the journey.

Dr. Levin designed a sequence of medications that were administered with great care and monitored each month.  The medications all do something just a little bit different but on the whole they stop the virus from attaching and attacking the T Cell that allows the immunize system to be healthy.

For Ana that looks like this twice each day without fail.  She says it it 'yucky' and she is absolutely correct.  But it keeps her healthy so she never misses a dose.  Kaletra, abacavir, epivir, specific vitamins, and a really unique diet are all a part of the miracle.

Isn't that the way miracles happen?  People like Myron work with the tools of the trade and God does the rest.  Miracles typically don't happen without some interaction between people.  I think we could call that relational theology!  God uses you, me, and folks like Myron to accomplish a demonstration of love that we simply call a miracle.

Sue and I used to have a little sign in the kitchen.  I liked it a lot.  It said, "A coincidence is when God performs a miracle and chooses to remain anonymous." 

Are you a part of the relational theology that is lived out through the anonymous coincidence of God?