Miracles…do they still happen in today’s world?
I’m often left amazed reading the classic Old Testament stories that most of us learned as children.

Noah building a boat that was able to survive the WORLD FLOODING…
Moses using just his STAFF to PART THE RED SEA…
Manna falling down from the sky EVERY DAY…
David defeating a giant with a SMALL STONE…
Daniel spending the night with LIONS…
Jonah LIVING in a fish for THREE DAYS…
And the walls of Jericho FALLING simply by MARCHING, INSTRUMENTS, AND SHOUTING…

These are AMAZINGLY CRAZY stories! Really! Stop and think about if these stories happened today. Imagine how awesome it would be to witnessed one of these miracles with your own eyes.
Could you imagine seeing on the news a story about a man who was swallowed by a fish, and three days later got spat out, and lived to tell about it? Don’t you wonder what Jonah experienced for those three days? What about witnessing a huge body of water split in half, and being a part of the crowd that walked through it? Just imagine the headlines “Boy Defeats the Undefeatable Giant with His Slingshot”.
Friends, this is pretty amazing stuff.

But do miracles still happen today? I say yes. We’ve experienced some personally. Maybe they aren’t as grand as a boat surviving a world flood. Or city walls falling to pieces by marching and shouts. But miracles still happen, everyday.

Yesterday Brad had a second follow up eye appointment, post surgery…I’ll get back to that appointment in just a minute.

You see, the tumor in Brad’s brain was located near the optical area in the brain. Before surgery, the neurosurgeon made it very clear one of their biggest concerns was that Brad would have some sort of visual disturbance after surgery. He said it could range anywhere from slight to drastic..and we would just have to wait and see how things turned out.

I still remember the moment when I was trying to help Brad take some medication in the hospital. I was reaching over to hand him a glass of water and he didn’t acknowledge me. He couldn’t see that I was holding a cup right next to his head. Turns out he had lost the lower right area (peripherally) on his right side.

The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body. The tumor was on the left side of the brain, controlling the vision of his right eye. This wasn’t a good sign. The neurosurgeon checked in with Brad, and agreed there was some vision loss. He told us, there’s a chance it could get worse, and there’s a chance it could come back, but that was very unlikely. Of course all sorts of different scenarios start popping in my head. “What if he can’t drive?” “What if he DOES drive and causes an accident?” “What if his vision gets WORSE?” “Would he mentally be able to handle losing his eye sight?” We’ve always talked about traveling the U.S. because both of us have experienced very little of it. “Did we lose this opportunity? What if he can’t SEE IT?”

Fast forward a few weeks after surgery. Brad had to see an eye specialist to test his vision and see if anything had changed. At this point we had said no to chemo and radiation, and were implementing as many healthy things that we could to strengthen Brad’s body and promote healing. We also prayed like crazy, and asked you all to pray like crazy too. Brad did a few different tests, and his tests showed 20/20 vision, and his peripheral vision was restored! He tested great! Praise God. The only negative thing that showed was inflammation and swelling of his optic nerve, but it didn’t seem to bother Brad, or cause any real issues.

Fast forward 3 months later to yesterday’s appointment. This time around, he tested even better, still has 20/20 vision, and there is NO SIGN of inflammation in his optic nerve. PRAISE GOD! Complete restoration! The eye doctor said his vision is completely normal, if not great. I felt like jumping out of my chair and giving Brad a high five right there in the exam room. It was just another reassuring moment for us, that this is God’s battle.

You know when you get that unexplainable feeling inside? It’s hard to describe, but a feeling of peace and and overwhelming joy at the same time, and you just KNOW God is speaking to you? Well I had that feeling then, and thought to myself, “See!? See what God can do? Just keep marching…keep on marching…” It was reassurance we are on the right path and to keep following His lead.

I believe in miracles, and I believe that Brad’s perfect vision is a reminder of this.
The first few weeks of diagnosis, surgery, and recovery were filled with lots of emotions, and highs and lows. The song “Raise a Hallelujah” by Bethel Music really spoke to me. I’d tear up and get a lump in my throat every time it came on the radio.

Then I found out the story behind this song–a miraculous story about baby Jaxon, and the testimony they now have. Watching the video below, we realized we experienced so many similar things. I felt like we could relate on a deep level to their story, especially the power of prayer and the power of community. Our community was (and still is) mighty. I’m not sure how strong we’d be without our powerful community raising us up, and praying for us.

Miracles happen every day. So while Brad keeps beating the odds, we’ll keep raising up our Hallelujahs! (even on our difficult days) Our miracles may not look quite the same as the Old Testament stories, but they are real, and we feel humbled that we’ve been able to experience them.

I promise you, you will be blessed and inspired listening to Jaxon’s story. Check out the videos below.

Be strong and courageous,
Lindsey