Today’s Devotional

Written By: Elizabeth Langford
The Little Miracles

There are more than one million words in the English language. Miracle, is just one of them. Just a teeny, tiny, seven letter word that like so many others in our vocabulary has shifted to become mainstream; an everyday word we use to describe something unexpected. We might casually say in conversation, “it was a miracle I got here on time,” alluding to the fact that traffic was horrendous that day. Or we comment to a friend, “it will be a miracle if I ever find my lost earring.” We remove goodness, wonder, awe, and sadly too often we remove God from the root of the word. Stripping it down to just another adverb who’s job is simply to describe the uncommon nature of the situation we’re referencing.

Or we think of miracles as so uncommon that they become something that happens to someone else, somewhere else, far removed from ourselves. We see them on the evening news, we read about them on social media, they creep into the conversations we have with our best friends, “did you hear the story about…?” When an airline pilot lands a jetliner on a narrow strip of water along the edge of New York City, saving the lives of everyone aboard we brand it the Miracle on the Hudson. And it is. It is a miracle of epic proportion. But what about everyday miracles? Is there such a thing? What about the out of the ordinary, unusual, and wonderful events that we can ascribe to God’s great love for us? The ones that happen without fanfare, without retweets and regrams. Do we even slow down enough to notice them? Do we give the credit of being real miracles?

In a world, and most certainly a culture, that is focused on what’s next, do we give God the credit and the glory for what’s happening now? Are we so quickly pulled into the next story, the next moment, the next situation that we don’t stop to recognize what we’ve just been witness to? Have we let God’s daily miracles become just another part of life?  Do we use the word too quickly or do we assign it so sparingly that we don’t let the “little miracles” take our breath away?

Webster defines a miracle as an unusual or wonderful event that is believed to be caused by the power of God. Think about that for just a moment. An unusual or wonderful event that we can step back from, look at, and attribute to God. I don’t know about you, but when I think of it that way, my life has been a series of one miracle leading into another. A series of unusual events that has God’s handwriting all over it.

A few weeks back I was sitting at my desk at home working on a large project and found myself stuck. Stuck in the middle of a to-do list several pages long, a menagerie of sticky notes across my desktop that had begun creeping up the side of my monitor like kudzu in the South. I went from being in full motion, hands dancing across the keyboard to being almost paralyzed under the weight of the work before me. My natural inclination was to just keep going. To keep pushing on, pushing through the work, through the piles, trudging on towards an ever moving goal that rarely rests or stands still. An explorer needing to press on for fear that standing in one place for too long might bury me with no hopes of coming out on the other side. And then a little voice inside told me to stop. Breathe. Rest.

I reached for my journaling Bible and I shifted gears. I put aside the to-do list and focused on God’s words, the to-live list. And then I did something I need to do more of: I invited God into that moment with me. I asked for His help on my project and I realized that I was honouring Him, not bothering Him by asking for divine intervention. Not more than 20 minutes later a friend texted offering help on the project I was consumed with. It might not be a miracle of epic proportions but it was evidence of God’s great love and it left me awestruck with wonder at His unceasing faithfulness. In my asking for help, God used my friend as an answer to prayer. She delivered a small everyday miracle that my Father in Heaven had so graciously given me. So today I’m making it a point to slow down. To take notice of the little miracles. The everyday out of the ordinary wonders that are all around when we begin to look for them. I’m reminding myself to invite God into every project, every place, because if I know one thing to be true, it is that I am always in awe of the miracle of His love for me.

Elizabeth Langford is the Ambassador of Joy for Showit, Inc, a software company focused on building technology that enhances creativity. She is a follower of Jesus, a wife, mother, writer and speaker. Read her blog at elizabethlangfordblog.com and follow her on Instagram at instagram.com/elizabethlangford

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Showit, Inc.

Direct: (480) 239-5800 | elizabeth@showit.co

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Written By: Karen Belleau

If there is one couple I can identify with more than any other it would be Abraham and Sarah.

Infertility is a dark, lonely place and to date, the most difficult and heart wrenching trial I’ve encountered. To be honest, it is difficult to even put into words and no matter how well I am able to, unless you’ve walked the road of infertility, you will never know the level of pain and heartache.

You battle so many things when faced with infertility. Things like jealousy, anger, shame, loss, disappointment, and hopelessness. For the first 10 years Glen and I battled infertility we never discussed it with anyone. Not with my best friend or even my twin sister. It was too personal and too painful, like a raw open wound.

Glen and I approached this area in faith and believed that what God did for Abraham and Sarah, He could do for us.

We found Bible verses to declare like: Psalm 113:9 “He makes the barren woman to be a homemaker and a joyful mother of children.”

We had baby names written down in an envelope we kept beside our bed. We spent hours dreaming of what our children would be like and the kind of parents we would be. For years that’s all it was – dreaming, believing, and seeing nothing.

You battle like nothing else with infertility. There are babies and pregnant women everywhere and every one of them is screaming “I have something that you don’t”. I believe more than anything, infertility causes you to ride a roller coaster of highs and lows like nothing else. It’s a ride I took every month as I anticipated being pregnant only to be let down again and again, month after month and year after year.

There came a day when our infertility became very public. It was a Sunday evening service in our church. There was a guest speaker who moved in the prophetic. He had a track record of giving accurate prophetic words.

He called me out in front of my entire church and said; “In nine months you are going to have a baby.” I was overwhelmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit and this word went so deep into my soul, I hardly slept for two nights. God had heard the cry of our hearts!!

Two weeks after this wonderful and amazing prophetic word, Glen and I left for our first vacation alone in years. We spent our drive to the Muskokas talking about having kids, and dreaming and wondering about what God was up to. We were excited and full of faith. We even stopped and purchased a baby outfit as a way of exercising our faith. I hung that little outfit up in our cottage and then…. started my period. Imagine the heartache and confusion, the shame and disappointment.

I cried like I’d never cried before.

I questioned God and the accuracy of that prophetic word. I admit in that moment I would have liked to find that man and take his head off! How dare he make he hope like that! It’s funny how the first thing we do in our pain is look for someone to blame it on.

Pointing our pain at a person isn’t going to fix it. Even if someone is responsible for the pain we are experiencing, blaming does nothing except make it worse. Blaming will take you deeper into discouragement, disappointment, and powerlessness.

We were solid enough Christians to know that ultimately, the one to blame was the devil. He was the real enemy.

John 10:10 calls him a thief who has come to steal, kill, and destroy. The enemy had been robbing us for years – in health and finances, in our physical intimacy, and in barrenness. God was not the source of all this heartache and pain. Glen soon reminded me that the message this man preached in that evening service, before he ever gave me the prophetic word, was out of Romans 4:17.

His entire message was about the importance of “calling those things that be not, as though they were”.

So we had a choice to make. Be angry and blame the man or receive the prophetic word and apply the message he taught to it. And so we began to say, “In nine months we are going to have a baby.” We said that again and again for years, believing that word to come to pass in our lives.

One thing that happened during this time was that I began working for an infertility specialist. The medical practice covered gynaecology and obstetrics, but primarily infertility and the majority of the pregnant women we cared for were infertility patients that successfully became pregnant.

You would think that working in that environment would have been extremely difficult, but it wasn’t. I absolutely loved my work! The grace of God was on me and I had many opportunities to daily sow seeds of hope and encouragement into the lives of hurting women. I cannot count how many times someone said “It’s just so hard and I want a baby so bad.” I was always able to share how much I could, indeed, identify with them, as I myself was also barren for many years. I was often asked how I could work in such a place without children myself and every time my answer was the same…

“I am trusting God for a miracle.”

Now the question you are dying to know by now is, did I do infertility treatment? The answer is no. We thought about it, sometimes a lot and I was tempted to try it on occasion, but in the end we never did.  Let me be clear, I have no problem with infertility treatments. The medical field has made it possible for thousands of women to have babies that otherwise would not have. To do or not do infertility treatment, is a personal decision each couple has to make and for us, our decision was not to undergo any treatments. I could have done just about anything at no cost if I wanted it, but I always wondered if I did move out in the medical realm, how would I ever know for sure it was God and not us.

It was too easy for those lines to be blurred and in my heart I so wanted our child to be a testimony of the greatness of our miracle working God.

So, after working full time for four years, I became pregnant!!

To be honest, at this point, being pregnant was the farthest thing from my mind. Yes we still wanted children, but we had made a decision to love our life and enjoy our days resting in the knowledge that God knew the desire of our hearts. I actually thought I had a bladder infection and was preparing the lab slip to send with my urine sample, when my co-workers teased me about checking off a pregnancy test too. I went along jokingly with them, and was amazed when I called the lab later that evening and was told I did not have a bladder infection, but was indeed pregnant!!

On October 27, 2007 I gave birth to a 5lb. baby boy. We held the long awaited promise in our arms!!

Our God is always Faithful!

About Karen Belleau:

Written By: Pascale Colucci

Miracles of Salvation

We were in Tiberias, Israel for a missions trip with YWAM. During one of our free evenings we were supposed to meet for dinner with a lady that we had recently met at the grocery store, but she couldn’t make it at the last minute. We proceeded with dinner anyway and we were led to a cute, casual sandwich joint. The owner was very friendly and he could speak English, so we hit it off right away. As we continued chatting throughout the night, we noticed that his friend who was sitting at another table was listening to us, so we joined him. He was very friendly and transparent about his life and the struggles he was facing. He was a 23 year old (that makes him 25 now!) Russian Jew who had recently completed serving in Israel Defence Force. He and his wife were divorced and they had a little boy together.

We soon discovered that he had been searching for the Truth and he loved reading books, so we gave him and his ex-wife some Hebrew literature. We met up with him for the last time before we left for Jerusalem and the Holy Spirit led us to give him a Hebrew New Testament Bible and he was extremely appreciative. Three months later, we received an email from him and he shared that he had become a believer in Yeshua!!! Our local contacts in Tiberias confirmed with us that he was truly saved and plugged in to a messianic church! Leading the lost to Jesus is such a privilege and leading His very own chosen people to Yeshua is part of fulfilling the prophecy that us Gentiles are to provoke the Jews to jealousy (Deuteronomy 32:21, Isaiah 65:1, Romans 11:11), so that they will repent and put their faith in Yeshua! Alleluia!

Miracles of Healing and Salvation

Another cool testimony was from our honeymoon in Maldives. We were renting snorkelling equipment from the main dive instructor, and we learned that she had an accident with her ear, so she hadn’t dived for a few months. We went back to borrow some equipment on another day and we asked if we could pray for her. She was willing, so we laid hands on her ear and prayed for her. A few days later, we saw her and she said her ear was completely healed and she could dive again! Praise the Lord!!! On the day of our departure, I went to say goodbye to her. I gave her a hug and told her that Jesus loves her and she just smiled back at me.

Since being in Windsor and serving at Lazarus Outreach Centre from last June, we’ve been blessed with the opportunity to do street ministry on Tuesdays. One of my most memorable encounters was witnessing to two female students at the University of Windsor campus with Pastor Gilles. From the onset, I noticed that something was bothering one of the students, so I asked her what was wrong. She shared that she had a toothache, so I asked if we could pray for her. I laid hands on her cheeks and asked Jesus to heal her. After praying, I asked her how she felt and she said she was feeling much better and her face lit up! At this very moment, we shared the Gospel with both of them and they chose to follow Jesus that day!!! Praise the Lord!

As I bring this post to a close, I want to get back to the current situation/circumstance we are in. As I had mentioned earlier, we were supposed to be in Denver, Colorado by now, or so we had hoped. We had been raising funds over the last four months but the Lord didn’t provide all the funds we needed, so we could not go. When I first learned about this, I was really devastated and it took me about a week to hold my emotions together. The first thing I did was doubt that David and I had really been hearing from God because we would not have pursued such a great undertaking if it were not His will! The devil began spewing lies in my head and tempting me to doubt God’s character. I had also come to realize that I felt devastated with the situation and with God because I had trusted Him conditionally. I had trusted Him to not let this happen and it did!

So what do you do in such circumstances? You continue waiting on God. That’s exactly what we are doing. We have been waiting to pursue seminary education since last April. We are still waiting on God and we are trusting in His direction instead of doubting. The origin of the word ‘wait’ in Hebrew refers to (1) ‘bind together (by twisting); (2) ‘wait’ is linked to the idea of piercing, (3) to carve, to entrench (to dig or cut a trench around a place, as in fortification; to fortify with a ditch and parapet). When the Lord delays in answering our prayers, He is not saying no. He is saying “Wait, not yet My child.” His delays do not mean ‘no’, but His delays actually means ‘wait’. In other words, when He is asking you to wait, or like our situation, making you wait, He is really inviting you to cling to Him, to bind yourself to Him. When the Lord makes a promise to you, He actually binds Himself to the oath and He will never ever break it. On the surface, nothing seems to be happening, it feels like everything is on hold and you are not moving at all. But we have to trust Him and believe that Daddy is doing something behind the scenes for us. He is preparing the way and making a way even when there seems to be no way. And at the set appointed time, He will bring it to pass if you remain in His will and stay on course. So the question is – will you cling on to Daddy?

My dear sisters, especially those who are facing crossroads or struggling with waiting on God, I pray that you will trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. Remember that He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it (1 Thessalonians 5:24)! God bless you!

Love in Christ!

~Pascale

About Pascale Colucci:

Pascale is a daughter of Father God, a lover of Jesus Christ and she is joyfully married to David Colucci. She’s a foodie and coffee enthusiast. She also enjoys travelling, reading, cooking, baking, dancing, running and wake-boarding. Pascale met her husband David while serving in the Alpha programme at an international fellowship in Shanghai, China in 2011. Their journey as vocation missionaries began with YWAM in New Zealand in 2013 and has led them to Lazarus Outreach Centre in Windsor, Canada since 2014, where she ministers to the oppressed and teaches the Word of God. Pascale has a heart for youth and women. She desires to bring them hope and inspiration through the Gospel, the supernatural love and power of Jesus Christ and her personal testimony. The Lord has been leading Pascale (and her husband David) to pursue seminary education as a stepping stone for future ministry. Since November 2013, Pascale is dreaming with God to establish a multi-faceted ministry to combat sex-trafficking across the nations.

“My greatest desire is to love and obey God, be on fire for Him, exalt Jesus Christ with my life, impact the nations and bequeath a spiritual inheritance for the generations succeeding me.”- Pascale Colucci

Written By: Pascale Colucci

Hello Sisters in Christ!

I’m so honored to have this opportunity to contribute a post for the Uniquely Yours Blog this September 2015! Praise the Lord! When Kerrington first approached me in June to contribute to ‘Miracles Week’, I was super stoked and in my mind, I was hoping and expecting to share how the Lord provided a huge financial breakthrough for my husband and I to pursue seminary education as by this time, we were supposed to be in Denver, Colorado! However, we are still here. As I prayed and sought Jesus’s heart for this blog, I feel He wants me to be ‘real’ and use my past and current circumstances to encourage every one of you who is reading this blog.

My Personal Testimony

I would like to start by sharing a brief testimony of my life with you. I’m from Singapore (Southeast Asia!) and I was raised by my mom, grandmother, and all my mom’s siblings (which I would never exchange anything for!). My dad left my mom and I when I was 5 months old, so I grew up looking for love and acceptance in ALL the wrong places – so wrong that my quest for “love” left me sexually violated when I was 15 years old. Over the first 25 years of my life, I found my identity in relationships (with the opposite sex), my career, material possessions, and being in the “limelight”. I moved from one destructive relationship to another until I finally lost all my self-esteem and self-worth. Until I totally lost myself, at least, whatever that was left of me. My life took a downward spiral in many ways.

Having been raised Catholic, I knew of God but I never really knew God. I sought to find answers for the heartache, pain, anger, rejection, abandonment, shame, hatred towards myself and my mother, and the verbal abuse from my mom in my life. I tried to find answers through occult practices and I even tried to find ways to heal myself. I was desperate for a fresh start and I knew that I had to get out of Singapore as my promiscuous party/drug lifestyle was getting the worst of me. In May 2010, I finally left Singapore to pursue a new job in Shanghai, China.

Four months into an emotionally and physically demanding job where I was verbally abused by my employer, I finally cried out to God for help. I cried “Lord, I can’t do this by myself anymore, I need Your help. And I’m not leaving Shanghai.” By November 2010, I officially became a Christian; I became a child of God. Alleluia!

Why am I sharing my testimony? It’s because Revelation 12:11 promises “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” Before I surrendered my life to Jesus, I loved my life to death and it did lead me to a mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual death. It’s a MIRACLE that I got saved and it’s a MIRACLE that I’m even sharing my testimony with you. Praise the Lord!

Since I became a follower of Jesus Christ, my life has radically changed! Jesus healed me of rejection, abandonment, anger, and self-hatred! Jesus delivered me of sexual addiction, smoking, drinking, and party-drugs! Jesus has given me a new heart that beats only for Him and He has truly given me a new life, found in Him and in His agape love, alleluia! I have fallen so much in love with my Savior that I knew in my heart when He was calling me to ministry. I had little understanding of what that meant or looked like. In 2012, my husband and I heard the call to pursue Jesus even deeper, so we quit our corporate jobs in Shanghai, China, and we embarked on a new journey with Jesus through a Discipleship Training School (DTS) at Youth With A Mission in New Zealand. On February 7, 2013, at 2:52am, I heard the Lord’s audible voice in my sleep for the first time in my life. I heard Him say “You and David will learn about love and character building at DTS and you will teach it after.” I awoke in the middle of the night, thinking someone was talking to me but my roommates were fast asleep and there was no one else in the room. I will always remember this because His voice was crystal clear. From the moment I heard my Daddy’s audible voice, I knew He was calling us to serve Him full-time. And as I’m writing this, I’m being reminded of the call to be His missionaries. David and I have been serving Jesus full-time for almost 3 years now. Living by faith is a lot of fun but it also comes with a whole bunch of diverse challenges!

Here are some key moments in my life when I doubted God and how He radically showed up! I love that we serve a radical Jesus! Alleluia!

Miracles of Provision

While we were serving with YWAM in N.Z., we were behind in our rent for about five weeks. Throughout this time, we kept praying and asking the Lord if and when we could communicate our needs with our supporters. But each time we prayed, the Lord said “No, not yet, wait.” So we waited. But with every day that passed, our landlord who happened to be living right next to us kept questioning us about rent. I was really distraught and I felt so helpless. I wanted so much to reach out to our supporters but at the same time, I didn’t want to disobey God at all. I didn’t understand what God was doing and my heart grew weaker as time passed. Our situation was getting pretty bad and if we waited any longer to pay the rent, we would have faced a legal issue! Finally, we felt the release to ask for support, so we emailed all our supporters. Within a few hours that night, the Lord provided so much more than we needed! Praise the Lord! And little did we know then that the extra amount He provided would enable us to live in Windsor last year. Only God could have orchestrated such a divine provision!

Another really amazing miracle I would like to share with you is also about provision. When we first arrived in Windsor last May, we were newly married and we didn’t have a place of our own, so we stayed with David’s parents for the first four months. Let me break it to you this way single ladies— when you get married, if possible, DO NOT, again I repeat, DO NOT live in your parents’ or in-laws’ home, especially if they’re unsaved. It came to a point where we desperately needed to move out as living with his parents was daunting on our marriage. We fasted and prayed. We sought the Lord for a way out and at that point, it seemed like there was no way out. Then the Lord provided a rent FREE apartment for us!!! He also provided all the furniture and household appliances we needed!!! Praise the Lord!

You see, when you live by faith, most of the miracles you’d encounter are probably about provision because you become fully dependent on God as your source of income. After all, one of Daddy’s many names is ‘The Lord Will Provide’ (Genesis 22:14)! He is our Jehovah Jirah!!! Alleluia!

About Pascale Colucci:

Pascale is a daughter of Father God, a lover of Jesus Christ and she is joyfully married to David Colucci. She’s a foodie and coffee enthusiast. She also enjoys travelling, reading, cooking, baking, dancing, running and wake-boarding. Pascale met her husband David while serving in the Alpha programme at an international fellowship in Shanghai, China in 2011. Their journey as vocation missionaries began with YWAM in New Zealand in 2013 and has led them to Lazarus Outreach Centre in Windsor, Canada since 2014, where she ministers to the oppressed and teaches the Word of God. Pascale has a heart for youth and women. She desires to bring them hope and inspiration through the Gospel, the supernatural love and power of Jesus Christ and her personal testimony. The Lord has been leading Pascale (and her husband David) to pursue seminary education as a stepping stone for future ministry. Since November 2013, Pascale is dreaming with God to establish a multi-faceted ministry to combat sex-trafficking across the nations.

“My greatest desire is to love and obey God, be on fire for Him, exalt Jesus Christ with my life, impact the nations and bequeath a spiritual inheritance for the generations succeeding me.”- Pascale Colucci

Written By: Sarah Cousineau

Originally published at: 

We are His Daughters. 

I think most teenagers feel at some point like they are invincible. Never for a second thinking something can come and threaten their lives, at least I thought that way. I never once thought that I would have to fight a battle as large as the one that was placed in my path when I was only 14.

​It all started October 2006 when I suffered from an unusual and excruciating headache. I thought that a good nights sleep would cure it, but found out the next morning it wasn’t so. My mom took me to the clinic just in case but the Doctor claimed it was just a virus. I was to take some Advil and rest. After a few hours it passed and I felt normal again.

​A few weeks later I was attending my brothers football game when the pain returned. Only this time it was stronger and was accompanied by neck pain and vomiting. The next day we went back to the clinic. My mom was starting to worry. Based on the symptoms she wondered if it could possibly be Meningitis. When she expressed her concerns the Doctor laughed it off, claiming again that it was just a virus and all I needed was Advil. However this time it took four days before the feelings passed. A month later it came back with a vengeance. I could barely walk on my own. I spent almost a full week in bed. Something was definitely wrong and it most definitely was not a virus. My mom took me to our family doctor. He took one look at me and noticed that something wasn’t right, thus began my nightmare.

​A cat scan was ordered immediately. The results indicated that there was an abnormality in my brain and I was sent for further testing. The MRI revealed something that we were not prepared for. An aneurism was discovered on the right side of my brain. ​I was 14 at the time and had no idea what a brain aneurism was. I assumed it was serious but yet wasn’t overly worried. I guess you could say ignorance is bliss.

​Once the results were in I was sent to a local neurologist. He wasn’t overly worried at first; he even went on to say that it might not be an issue until I was much older. A week later I went in for more tests and again everything seemed fine. On January 3rd 2007, my parents got the call that changed everything. They were instructed to pack my bags and head straight to the sick kids hospital in London immediately. With no real answers I still had no idea the seriousness of my situation, but there was a nagging feeling inside that this was far bigger then we realized.

​Once we arrived it was a flurry of activity as they admitted me and started to run tests at an urgent speed.
When all the tests were completed I was set up in a room, where I just laid and cried. I was so confused and uncertain of what was to come. It wasn’t long before I had all the answers.
The next morning I met my nurse practitioner who explained that I would need to have an angiogram, a procedure that would determine exactly where the aneurysm was located and the size. All these details were necessary as they planned out the surgery. There it was. I was scheduled for major brain surgery.

​In a weeks time I had seen over 15 different doctors/ specialists. Each one of them reiterated how rare this was for a person my age and that I was “lucky” to have had these headaches because they acted as a warning sign which most people with aneurisms don’t get. Even though I was young they didn’t spare me any details. This was an incredibly dangerous surgery with a 10% chance of never waking up and a risk of a stroke. After a week of tests and waiting that day finally arrived.

​“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God… Phil.4:6

​

Surprisingly I was very calm that morning because I trusted in God and I knew he had a plan. He had taken care of me this far and I knew he wouldn’t stop there. There were SO many people from home and from churches all around praying for me. My family never left my side. I was never alone. I had an amazing team of doctors doing the surgery. It also didn’t hurt that I was promised a puppy when I woke up 🙂

​After about 6 or 7 hours in surgery the surgeon greeted my parents and said that the surgery went very well and there were no complications! Praise the Lord! The road to recovery went exceptionally well. I was out of the hospital about a week and a half later, which is unusually quick.

All the doctors and nurses that I encountered were in awe through the whole process. Always stating that I was a miracle and had a guardian angel. They hadn’t seen a case like mine; most patients took much longer to recover and had so many complications. It was an incredible testament to the powerful God we serve.

​Through it all I never thought to myself “why me? Why is God punishing me?” which is strange considering that is usually the first thing people think. Instead I had a peace through the whole experience that could only come from God alone. Even when I was told that I may not live, I could have chosen to fear the worst, but I knew that I had to just trust in God and that he would get me through this.

​And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

​It has been almost 8 years since my surgery. I still have a very small aneurism on the left side of my brain, which requires me to have an MRI every two years. But I’m not worried. God holds me in his hands and He is the one who has the final say. So I just pray and trust that He will continue to heal and take care of me in every way.

​God is and always will be good. He deserves all the glory and all honor!

About Sarah:

Sarah lives in Essex, Ontario. She works at Libro credit union as a service representative. She’s the youngest of 4 and is a proud auntie to her niece, and  4 nephews.

Written By: Pastor Jay Armaly

Miracles. The mere mention of the word can often bring up at minimum a spirited conversation and often finds its way into a heated debate. The reason for this: Miracles are attributed to a supernatural cause, something beyond this realm and more specifically to a work of God.

Since we live in a society and in an age where most people do not believe in a realm beyond this one, this simple yet powerful word can be a challenge. For those of us that have experienced a miracle, an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers (dictionary.com), it often leaves a lasting and life changing effect on us. My set of miracles happened at such a young age that it altered my destiny forever.

April 19, 1974 was a day filled with much excitement for my parents as they were welcoming another baby Armaly into this world. It was their third child and would end up being their last as the doctors recommended no more children due to the increasing levels of difficulty and complications at childbirth and beyond. Although it was a difficult birth, I appeared to arrive healthy and ready for life but unfortunately this would change in a few short weeks.

At six weeks of age I was rushed to Hotel Dieu Hospital in Windsor with a heart rate of 200 BPM. Through testing, it was also discovered that I was severely anemic, so I was given a blood transfusion which seemed to stabilize my health and was sent home. A short time later, my health began to deteriorate leaving the doctors puzzled and concerned.

They transferred me to London Children’s Hospital where it was discovered that I had a rare disease called “an enzyme deficiency of the red blood cells”. My bone marrow was producing incomplete red blood cells and my white blood cells were destroying them. This disease had similarities to leukemia and it was determined I would need blood transfusions to survive.

My parents were shocked, devastated, and fearful of the future that beheld their little baby. To add even more trauma to an already difficult situation, it was discovered during this time that I was born completely deaf. My parents could slam doors around me and I wouldn’t even flinch. This in itself would be difficult to walk through with your new born son, but together it was almost unbearable.

My church-going parents did the only thing they could think of, as the medical profession was out of solutions, they turned to God. My parents believed in a good and loving God and this core value led them to pray and rally many other believers to believe for divine miracles. Many prayers were said through friends and family and in many prayer meetings around the county.

It would be a seemingly random encounter in a grocery store parking lot that would alter the destiny of my life. One day while finishing shopping, my mother ran into a gentlemen she knew who was heading down to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to attend a healing meeting led by Kathryn Kuhlman. Mrs. Kuhlman was known throughout North America for having incredible and profound miracles take place during her meetings. She asked if he would take my prayer needs with him as he went to these meetings. It was a seed of hope for my mom. She knew she could not attend, or take me, but maybe this would be enough. As this man attended one of these meetings, the miraculous would happen. Mrs. Kuhlman, while speaking, looked to the balcony where this man was sitting and pointed and said “There is a baby in London, Ontario who has a blood disease. Be healed in Jesus’ name”. She had no idea who I was, but thankfully God did! With those words, I was instantly healed and the doctors were baffled. My red and white blood cells became normal and my health became strong.

I was released from the hospital and it was considered a miracle. A supernatural intervention!

To say that my parents were ecstatic and relieved would be an understatement. Their baby was coming home, but unfortunately I was still deaf. Although one major disease was healed, they were still looking at a challenging future with their boy being deaf. In 1974, the closest school to train the deaf was in Peterborough, Ontario. It was determined that by age three I would need to begin to travel there so I could learn to sign and read lips. This was still a scary future for their boy but with my blood disease being healed my parents had even greater faith for a miracle.

I am truly thankful that God is faithful and completes the good work that He starts. Miracles can happen at the strangest times and my second one happened in a car with a radio. One day while my mother was driving the car, the A-track player (much like a tape player) switched sides with a loud click. In that moment, for the first time, I moved my head in the direction of the sound. I was instantly and completely healed! Through much prayer, God had intervened a second time!

I could honestly go on to write of the multitudes of times God intervened miraculously in my life. From drinking poison and having my stomach pumped out to almost drowning, choking in a tree, and being electrocuted while cutting a wire as a kid, I have seen the faithfulness and protection of a good God!

The dictionary also defines a miracle as “a wonder and a marvel” which I find very fitting. We can’t always understand the mysteries that surround a miracle, but they do tend to reshape our life. The wonders and marvels I have experienced have continued to point my eyes upward throughout my life to learn more about the loving God we serve. I don’t believe that God intervened because I am more special than anyone else, but I do believe that my Heavenly Father heard the desperate cries of a mother and father and the prayers of a community rising up in faith.

My prayer is that my testimony of healing will stir your faith and remind you, or even open your heart, to the goodness and love of God.

About Pastor Jay Armaly:

Pastor Jay and His Wife Krista, have been with Antioch Christian Ministries since its inception. Pastor Jay is first and foremost a worshiper who loves to minister unto the Lord. Jay is a local church pastor with a vision to see every person encounter God and empowered to impact their communities with the love of Christ. He has a passion to see marriages healed, families restored and people released into their fullness and destiny. Pastor Jay and Krista have three children.