EVERYDAY MIRACLES
We often look for God in grand, thundering moments, forgetting that He frequently moves in the routine of ordinary days. For me, a gentle reminder of His presence didn’t come from a dramatic revelation, but from a standard wellness checkup. It was a wake-up call that began with a routine lab report and ultimately showed me how deeply God cares about the smallest details of our lives.
At my 2024 checkup, my doctor pointed out something I had ignored for years: my cholesterol. It had always hovered above 200, but now it had climbed past 330. She was concerned. My heart calcium scan came back normal, but she still urged me to lower the numbers. I didn’t want to take statins, so she recommended a natural supplement. I bought it and took it faithfully every day.
Between that appointment and my six-month follow-up, I met with a rheumatologist regarding my bone density. When she saw my cholesterol numbers, her reaction was immediate alarm. She insisted I start statins right away, even sharing a cautionary tale about a young friend who had died from high cholesterol.
Despite her urgency, I felt completely calm. I mentioned that I had started a natural supplement, but she dismissed it, declaring that no natural remedy could significantly lower my levels. Still, I left her office with a deep, unshakable peace. I couldn’t explain it, but I knew deep down that medication was not my path.
When it was time for my six-month follow-up for my cholesterol, I went in for a blood test to check my levels. That evening, the lab emailed the results. My husband saw the message first, printed the report, and placed it on the kitchen counter next to the coffee machine for me to find in the morning. When I saw the numbers, I was stunned! In just 6 months, my cholesterol had dropped by more than 100 points. My LDL had fallen dramatically. My HDL increased beautifully. I was so overwhelmed by what God had done that I broke into a little kitchen dance, waving the printout like a banner.
A few weeks later, I shared the same results with the rheumatologist who had earlier insisted that a supplement could never make a meaningful difference. She was visibly shocked. She kept looking at the numbers, trying to make sense of them. Then, she looked at me and said, “This is truly remarkable. I have never seen anything like this in thirty years of practice.”
What seemed impossible without medication had become possible with God. He not only worked a miracle in my body, but He also opened the eyes of a medical professional who had already made up her mind about what could and could not happen.
This little miracle prepared my heart for what came next. If God could move in something as ordinary as cholesterol numbers, then surely nothing was beyond His reach. What happened with my kidneys was gradual, but undeniably the hand of God.
JESUS UN-CHRONICS DISEASE
In 2023, during what I assumed would be a routine yearly wellness check, my bloodwork revealed something I never expected: reduced kidney function. According to the printout I received at checkout, I was already in Stage 3a Chronic Kidney Disease, which is mild to moderate loss of kidney function. I don’t remember the doctor explaining it; I only remember staring at the words on the page, trying to make sense of them.
The following year’s checkup brought no improvement. In fact, my labs now indicate Stage 3b Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), which is moderate to severe loss of kidney function, and this time, my body confirmed the diagnosis. The fatigue was unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was a debilitating weight that made rolling over on the couch feel like moving through quicksand. A simple trip to the grocery store felt like running five miles uphill with a heavy sack strapped to my back.
My doctor advised me to stop taking acetaminophen (which I was taking every evening for back and sciatica pain) and to drink four bottles of water a day. There is no medical cure for CKD, so my only option was to prevent further damage and support my kidneys as best I could. Determined to do something, I began researching natural ways to support my kidneys’ health. That’s when I discovered a book by a Christian nephrologist outlining a natural regimen that he claimed could improve or even cure kidney disease. I was a little skeptical, but I ordered it anyway.
Over the next couple of months, I read the book multiple times. In the back were supplement recommendations based on each CKD stage, nothing strange or unsafe: fish oil, CoQ10, grapeseed extract, and a few other things, plus guidance on kidney‑friendly foods and water. Lots of water!
Around that time, my doctor sent me to have a kidney ultrasound. When I hopped up on the exam table, the nurse looked at me and asked, “Why are you here?” As she continued working, I explained the blood tests and that my doctor wanted further scans done.
Speaking of kidneys, I told her about my knit group making blankets and hats for dialysis patients. When I started delivering them to the dialysis clinics around town, I was surprised to find that each of the 10 centers had about 100 patients! She shook her head sadly and said, “It boggles my mind how many people who have CKD refuse to drink water and eat right.”
Then came the surprise: my ultrasound showed normal kidney function. But the battle wasn’t over. In the weeks that followed, I found myself slipping into an emotional depression, weighed down by intrusive thoughts about death and the incurable, long‑term nature of Chronic Kidney Disease. Without realizing it, I began imagining worst‑case scenarios—even picturing my own funeral!
THROWING OFF THE DEATH THOUGHTS
After weeks of wrestling with dark, heavy thoughts, everything finally shifted one morning. I woke up and heard the Lord speak with unmistakable clarity: “I uphold your life in My hands.” In an instant, the fear that had been pressing on me lost its power. I knew, deep in my spirit, that my life was held securely by God, and I didn’t need to be consumed with what the test results might say.
That moment exposed what had really been happening: the old fear of death had crept back in, slipping in through the cracks when I was tired and vulnerable. But once I recognized it, I refused to let it stay. I flung it off me like filthy clothing. I remembered that I do not have to accept every thought that enters my mind. I do not have to entertain fear or dread. Through Christ, I have the authority to reject every death‑colored thought that tries to settle in my heart and mind.
Then I sensed the Holy Spirit nudging me: “Don’t just read about the cure; apply it” (James 1:22; James 2:17). In other words, I couldn’t just think or wish myself well again; I needed to do what the book recommended. Armed with these words and the Lord’s direction, I then decided to take the supplements, drink the amount of water the doctor ordered, eat kidney‑friendly foods, and begin to exercise.
I wasn’t perfect, but I was faithful. Eight months later, my labs showed normal kidney function! I asked my doctor if this was common. She said, “No.” Then she added, “Your motivation to drink water and eat right made the difference.”
Not every CKD case is like mine, some causes are genetic, autoimmune, or environmental. But our choices do matter. Our spiritual life works the same way: God provides the power, but we must participate in the process. Each checkup that followed revealed continued kidney improvement, increasing a little more each time. This is what I call God’s miracle‑working power, activated by obedience. Not just reading or knowing what to do, but doing it!
SPIRITUAL DEHYDRATION
Just as there are physical causes and physical remedies, there are also spiritual parallels. Many of us walk through seasons where we feel spiritually dry, weary, or depleted without fully realizing why. Sometimes it’s simply because we haven’t paused to rest and drink from the Living Water or to nourish our souls with God’s eternal Word.
What we take in through our eyes and ears, meaning what we watch, read, listen to, and interact with, shapes our thoughts, our mood, and even our outlook on life. These influences touch us emotionally and mentally, and over time, they can even affect our physical well‑being. Paying attention to what fills our inner world is an act of kindness toward ourselves, because what we take in truly matters.
RESHAPING THE THOUGHT LIFE
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2; NLT; emphasis mine).
When I look back over both of these health journeys, the cholesterol challenge and the more recent battle with Chronic Kidney Disease, I can see a single thread woven methodically through them. God was not only healing my body; He was reshaping the way I think, respond, and trust.
In each situation, the Holy Spirit confronted the thought patterns that were working against me. Fear whispered worst‑case scenarios. Dread tried to take root before anything had even happened. Resignation tempted me to accept defeat too quickly. And my imagination often drifted toward the darkest outcome instead of lifting my eyes to the One who holds every outcome in His hands.
What amazes me is how the breakthroughs in both seasons came not from information alone, but from the moment I aligned my thoughts with God’s truth and acted on what He had already shown me to do. When we change the way we think, we change the way we live. When we change the way we live, we enjoy an abundant life (John 10:10).
Jesus still performs miracles in many ways. Some happen instantly; others unfold through obedience, trust, and renewed thinking. These miracles do more than change circumstances. They enlarge our capacity to carry His life. Every step of trust creates new room within the soul, preparing us for the greater work He longs to unfold.
As God reshapes our thinking and meets us where obedience and faith converge, something else awakens within us. His miracles do more than change our circumstances; they enlarge our capacity to carry His life. Every step of trust, every act of obedience, every moment we align our thoughts with His truth creates new room inside the soul.
And as that room expands, so does our ability to recognize His movements and respond to His leading. This is where the journey now turns: from witnessing His miracles to becoming vessels prepared for the greater work He longs to unfold within us.