Thursday, May 09, 2013

A Divine Mercy Hour Miracle

Twice in my life I have been healed from an affliction by praying at the Divine Mercy Hour.  God be praised, today--on the Feast of the Ascension-- I experienced a healing!

As those of you close to me know, I've been experiencing a low-grade but ever-present dizziness ever since I gave birth to my son Liam, now 8.5 months ago.  It arrived the moment that he did, and I could not understand why it had become my constant companion.

What was it about giving birth that would bring on such a condition?  I had gone into the hospital without it but brought home both it and a cuddly, wiggly, wonderful baby.

I could hide my dizziness well; most people never knew I was struggling with it.  But I could never forget about it because I was constantly compensating for my disequilibrium, and this became exhausting, at least mentally.

My primary care physician ran lots of blood tests and took a urine sample -- but could find nothing wrong.  My ophthalmologist did all sorts of tests on my eyes -- and could find nothing wrong.   Today an otolaryngologist cleaned out and examined my inner ear -- and found nothing wrong.

Finally, today, it was recommended to me that I make an appointment to have an MRI done on my brain to rule out scary things, the things of which I won't even say.  Ugh.

As I drove home from my doctor's appointment today feeling scared and of course still dizzy, my emotions sank.  And then, eventually, I sank, too--but into the couch--with Liam nursing on my lap and the Rosary app on my iPhone praying with me.  Please, God, heal me.

Within a few minutes, I noticed the time on our oven clock in the kitchen.  It was exactly 3:00 PM, the Divine Mercy Hour, the hour in which we remember Our Lord dying on the cross for our sins.  And it is in this hour that Our Lord told St. Faustina that He would not deny the request of any person, so long as it is for the eternal benefit of their soul.

I was delighted to have noticed the time, for I have felt God suggesting to me for such a long time that I ought to pray at His Divine Mercy Hour for a healing.  But each time He would gently remind me of this, I would neglect to write a note or set an alarm on my phone.  His beautiful, abundant Divine Mercy Hour would come and go, every day, and I would forget to invoke His fatherly help.

But today, I remembered.  And I uttered aloud such a short but heartfelt prayer, asking God to heal me completely of my dizziness, that its cause may not be anything serious, but that ultimately His Will may come to pass, regardless of what it is, and that I might have the strength to endure it.  Finally, I reminded Him that He was the JOY of my heart.

And instantly, I honestly tell you, I felt different.  I felt healed.  And I laughed aloud at the absurdity of it!  Liam, looking up at me while nursing, smiled, too.

I whipped my head right and then left and then back to the right again.  I rolled my eyes up, down, and around.  I looked up at the ceiling and then rapidly down to the floor.  Nothing caused any sense of dizziness.  I was shocked.

I praised God silently as Liam continued to nurse, not fully sure yet if I was just imagining this.  When 20 minutes passed and Liam was finished, I eagerly got up, ready to see if the dizziness would hit with my rising.

It didn't.

And, as I proceeded to the nursery to change Liam's diaper, I felt myself effortlessly side-step and weave between toys and buckets and a dog bed on the floor with a quickness, deftness, and fluidity that I have not known in 8.5 months.  This was amazing!

After the diaper change, I wanted to walk and move more because it was so enjoyable now!  Liam and I immediately began a stroller walk, and the bending and lifting of him, the stroller, and our SUV hatch-back was completely dizzy-free.  I wanted to run and dance and sing for joy!

He's thinking, "Please don't run and dance when you're pushing me in this, Mom!"
By this point, I was beyond joyful.  I remembered that Adoration was happening at the church across the street and still would be for another half-hour.  Liam and I glided across the road and up the little hill to the church where I found myself incapable of giving God the glory and gratitude that He really deserved.  I was so thankful and so speechless.

Instead, Liam squealed joyfully for the two of us.  And he wouldn't stop.  He just squealed and smiled and wiggled and waved.  Yes, he was all smiles, and so was I, but I eventually had to move us to the crying room, of course! 

Happy about Mommy's healing :)

"Still not feeling dizzy, Mama?"

Liam started walking his dog this week.  So funny.

So there you have it.  It's 9:23 PM right now, and I've been dizzy-free for exactly 6 hours and 23 minutes, a first in 8.5 long months!

So, do I believe God fully healed me?  Most definitely.  Could the earwax removal helped?  It's certainly possible, although I still felt dizzy even after that happened.  What I noticed immediately was the instantaneous feeling of relief that came at the moment I prayed at the Divine Mercy Hour.  I felt the relief all over my body but especially right between my eyes.

Do I think the dizziness might come back?  It could, for God gives and takes away.  My future is whatever the good Lord permits to have happen in my life.