Was it God, or Was It Just Luck?

Was it God, or Was It Just Luck?

Back on August 12^th I wrote a blog about a young girl critically injured in an automobile accident in Missouri. In the article, I wrote about paramedics and police on the scene describing a mysterious man who appeared at the accident scene to help comfort the accident victim as she fought for her life. Police said this mysterious man seemed to appear from out of nowhere, and then seemed to vanish into thin air when the girl was transported by helicopter to a trauma center. The story went on to say that, when police reviewed pictures and video, the mysterious man was not visible in any pictures. News of the story had said that a “guardian angel” had appeared.

So…the search began, and in a matter of a few days, the mystery was solved. The “guardian angel” turned out to be just a man. The man was a Catholic priest, but as our left-leaning, politically-correct media was happy to report… there was no heavenly help…he was just a man.

I realize that one’s belief system will shape the way a person views this story. Those without faith will simply view this story as this crash victim who was just a very lucky girl. To those of us with faith, we will see divine intervention.

This story reminds me of the old joke about the man stranded on the roof of his home after a flood. As the water rose, the man begged God to be saved. There soon appeared a rescue boat, but the man refused to get in the boat because he was waiting for God. Soon there appeared a helicopter, and the man refused their help; preferring to wait for God. Soon the water rose above the roof, and the man drowned. When the man arrived at the Pearly Gates, he angrily asked God why He hadn’t saved him. God told the man, “I sent you a boat, and I sent you a helicopter, what more did you want?

What struck me about this whole event was a statement 19- year old Katie Lentz made about her ordeal. Pinned behind the wheel of her over-turned convertible, vital signs falling; she asked those around her to join her in praying out loud. Those on the scene said, that when they began to pray, Father Patrick Dowling appeared.

Father Dowling said that he absolved and anointed young Katie, and prayed the Rosary with her as rescuers cut her from her car. Father Dowling didn’t see his role in this event as anything out of the ordinary. He said he came upon the accident, offered his help, preformed his priestly duties, and was on his way. He gave complete credit to the police, EMT’s, and firefighters.

I think what made all the difference in Katie’s life being spared that day was her faith in action. God hears all our thoughts without us ever having to open our mouth. The point of Katie asking others to pray out loud was not lost on God. In her moment of need…faced with death; Katie was not afraid to have others see and hear her faith in God.

How many times in the Bible are we reminded of ordinary people being saved when they boldly stepped forward and publically acknowledged the power of God? I read a book by Dr. Issam Nemeh, a world renowned faith healer, and in his book he says he immediately knows if God will heal that person when he first lays hands on them. He said that, whether a person is healed or not is not about the individual, it is about the power of God. In death, the individual is reunited with God; so death has a different meaning for God than it does us humans. We humans morn a death as a separation from their loved one, God has the polar opposite reaction. To God, death reunites Him with someone He created. God heals; so that those remaining can be witnesses to the power of God.

Our lives need to honor God, and that honor must be expressed publically. Our faith is not about what happens inside a church, or a synagogue, or a temple. Our faith is demonstrated in our everyday actions. Our faith is shown…not in what we tell our family, friends, and children, but in how others see us live our lives. You can’t preach faith. You can’t force your faith on someone. People need to see your faith as an instinctive reaction to a difficult situation…that your faith in God is as vital to you as the air you breathe.

While young Katie’s life was spared on that August day, all those there that day…and those who read about it later saw something much greater. They saw the power of God in action.

I will end with this…

If you are strangers to prayer you are strangers to power.
~ Billy Sunday