Amber VanVickle on Miracles that Don't Come

"I remember distinctly a night that had a great impact on my soul, a night that led to a great searching and seeking.

"It was late. I was sitting amid beeping machines around the hospital bed of my newborn daughter. She had just had extensive back surgery for severe spina bifida, only a few days old. She was more tubes and bandages than sweet baby-soft skin. I sat with a broken heart in quiet questioning to our Lord. We had prayed for a miracle that had not come, and the result had been nothing less than torturous - physically for our daughter, in every other way for us.

"At this same time, a beautiful miracle had occurred for an acquaintance of ours. Like the miracles of old - a life-giving, awe-inspiring, faith-enriching healing. We rejoiced in it with all our hearts. A letter soon circulated that this miracle occurred, firstly, because of God's great love for the couple. As I read the letter late that night, sitting next to my daughter, my heart broke even deeper. What did it mean for us that the miracle had not come? Did God not love us?

"It's easy for us to read the Gospel accounts and see only the thread of one miracle story after another. But there are hidden golden threads that seem too often unnoticed. . . ."

In a recent commentary, writer Amber VanVickle reflected on how the absence of God’s miracles "does not signify the absence of his love but the very presence of it."

To access Ms. VanVickle's complete post, please visit:

National Catholic Register: Blogs: Amber VanVickle: When the Miracle Doesn't Come (15 JUN 18)