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March 25, 2019Signs of God’s Presence
I don’t remember looking for signs from God when I was a young adult, but I remember exactly where I was as a parent when I experienced my first sign “deep” in the “nether world” of St. Jude Hospital’s chapel. Our youngest child, our only son’s second surgery had serious complications and my sister-in-law, a nursing supervisor from Grasslands Hospital in Westchester County, NY was standing beside me when our surgeon walked in to tell us, he was going to operate again. He looked at my sister in law and instantly they recognized one another and called each other’s name with astonishment. Our surgeon asked, “Mrs. McFadden, what are you doing here?” She told him, “I am here in this chapel for my nephew’s baptism and then addressing him emphatically, “And just what are you planning to do for my nephew?” From that moment it was as if something likened to angel wings came hovering over me, temporarily removing all fear and anxiety. Long story short and countless signs later our son is now approaching his 40th birthday and together with his talented and beautiful wife Becky and their two sons, they are creating a wonderful and meaningful life.
Last May 17th one day before my husband Ted’s birthday we were heading to St. Louis to take in a Cardinal’s game that evening. While going the speed limit of 60 mph, we felt a bump from behind and then a spin that put us in front of an 18-wheeler truck which hit our car and was pushing us toward a concrete barrier. Ted’s side airbag had gone off and at that moment, time slowed down and took on another dimension. Knowing we were seconds away from death, a sense of eerie calm came over me. The last sign from God I saw was our handmade, olive wood cross from Bethlehem hanging from our dashboard mirror. In that millisecond of eternity, I was preparing to see Christ and Mary, “high as the sky” when suddenly the car stopped. I could barely choke out my words, “we’re alive, we are alive!” We were taken to Barnes Jewish Hospital ER (another sign) and after multiple X-rays and CT scans, we walked away without even a scratch but with so much for which to thank God. Miracles do happen, “for nothing will be impossible for God.”
