Life is made up of so many little wonders–God’s very personal way of speaking to each one of us directly. So, to celebrate my 31st birthday, I decided to list out all the miracles that I’ve experienced in the past 31 years.
Here’s Part 2 of my list (you can read Part 1 here):
16. The Last Blessing–My grandfather was a priest in Turkey and a scholar of the Aramaic language. Even as a kid, I admired his deeply personal relationship with God. There was something almost holy about him. In fact, my parents would frequently ask him to bless my sisters and me.
I’ll never forget the last time I saw him. My sisters were away at college, but I was still in high school so my dad and I paid him a visit. By that time, my grandfather was very ill and no longer recognized anyone.
“Diana is here,” my dad said, as we entered his bedroom. At those words, my grandfather opened his eyes, asked me to move in closer and blessed me. One last time.
17. A Specific Craving–About a month ago, my cousin sent me a photo of her 2-year-old daughter holding up a giant bag of Doritos. Of course, for the rest of the day I couldn’t stop thinking about Doritos!
That afternoon, my colleague Danielle came back from lunch with a surprise–yup, Doritos. I never told her about my craving, she just knew. It’s silly, but God always seems to answer my unusual cravings in a special way!
18. The Secret Tree–During college, I stumbled upon a little bit of wonder hidden on campus. Read more here.
19. Last-Minute Save–A few weeks before I was set to finish graduate school, I discovered I’d accidentally enrolled in the wrong class and was short a degree requirement. And it was too late to enroll in another class.
Well, I wish I could say that I handled this news calmly, but I completely freaked out. All my hard work down the drain! I sent many frustrated pleas to God. Later that day, in the midst of my freak-out, I got an email from a professor in my department saying that the course would be accepted.
I have no doubt that God was behind this last-minute save, and I’m forever grateful.
20. A Dream Come True–An Easter Sunday Miracle! Here’s the story of how I ended up at Guideposts.
21. Family Around the Corner–For years my aunt and uncle had talked about moving to my hometown, more than two hours from where they lived. Finally, in the summer of 1997, they decided to take a chance and go ahead with the move. A few weeks after they settled into their new house, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Just like that, my aunt and uncle found themselves in the right place at exactly the right time to help. My family would’ve never made it through that difficult time without them living just a few minutes away.
22. The Book Club–One evening after work, I stepped into a book store and randomly picked up a novel lying on a table by the registers. It was called The Shadow of the Wind. I’d never heard of it, but it sounded interesting enough so I bought it.
From the moment I opened it, I was hooked. I loved everything about it. So much so that I decided to start a book club at work just so I’d have people to discuss the book with!
It started as a small gathering and soon turned into a huge club. And I made many lifelong friends as a result. What amazes me isn’t the book itself, but how God can use something so simple to change your life completely.
23. Dancing Wonder–I was browsing dance classes online when an email popped up in my inbox. You can read more about that little miracle here.
24. Prayer Power–Every Monday, the Guideposts staff gathers for prayer fellowship. We pray for the needs of our readers, family and friends, and update each other on the people we’ve been praying for. Witnessing the miracle of answered prayers week in and week out is simply amazing. Prayer truly works wonders.
25. The Cronut Miracle–One little dessert set off a sweet chain of events. Read more here.
26. A Strange Guiding Force–On the very first day of my internship at a local newspaper, my boss asked me to drive to another town for a story. I agreed, not really sure how to explain that I was a terrible driver with no sense of direction (this was before GPS!).
I had a basic idea of where my destination was, so I drove towards it, panicking. But somehow–I can’t really explain it–I ended up exactly where I needed to be. The whole time it felt like there was some mysterious force pushing me in the right direction. Guiding me so I wouldn’t mess up on my first day as a real reporter.
27. A Light Thud–In 8th grade, I was about to take a biology exam when something landed on my desk with a light thud. You can read more about that angelic surprise here.
28. The Call–I was working at my first job out of college and really wanted to volunteer in my spare time. The only problem? I couldn’t put my finger on what I was being called to do. I tried a few volunteering activities, but nothing felt right.
All out of ideas, I asked God for help. If you want me to get involved, please make it happen, I prayed one morning. Well, that week, something incredible happened. I got a call from the director of religious education from my local church. Unknown to me, another congregant had brought up my name to her as a possible teaching candidate.
Soon after, I started teaching 6th grade religious education on Thursdays after work. Eventually, my mom and aunts also joined as teachers. And, overall, my family became much more involved in the church. All because of that one little prayer!
29. City of Light–This past June, I uncovered a world of light while on vacation in Stockholm, Sweden. You can read more here.
30. Love, Love, Love–As you might’ve been able to tell, my family is extremely important to me–I write about them a lot! And, really, the greatest miracle on this list is their love. Certainly life isn’t always easy and sometimes my cross feels overwhelmingly difficult to bear. But God has given me a support crew like no other.
I see God clearest in the kindness, mercy and support of my parents and sisters. Sometimes it blows me away–if they love me at my very worst and spazziest, then I can’t even comprehend the depth of God’s love!
31. Talking Miracles–Sharing stories about the miraculous on this blog–like this one from Antoinette Rainone–and reading comments from readers has opened my eyes to wonder in new ways. Your stories have trained me to seek God’s miracles, big and small. And now, no matter where I go, it seems like wonder is never far.
What a journey it’s been. I can’t wait to uncover even more miracles with you all!
Now it’s your turn. Share the miracle highlights of your life below!
