Sara's Miracle

It was almost Christmas and while my husband was out of town, his mother and sister were visiting me and my children.  We had just finished clearing the dinner plates off the table and were getting ready for dessert.  I told the children to get dressed in their pajamas, so we could read scriptures and have prayer right after dessert. My older boys, Jacob, 14, and Nate, 12, headed to their bedroom to change clothes. Jacob soon appeared and then we all sat down at the table and waited for Nate to return.  Jacob and his younger siblings, David, 9, and Sara, 5, were getting restless and started to complain about how long it was taking Nate to finish getting dressed.  To calm the rambunctious siblings, I sent Sara to tell Nate to hurry up.  She skipped down the hall, grabbing the frame of his door with her hand as she turned the corner to his room. As he was still getting dressed, he yelled at her to go away and quickly slammed his door.   

As the door closed with a loud bang, I heard her scream in pain and come running down the hall crying out, “I don’t like this! I don’t like this!”

Nate had accidentally cut the top of her middle finger off in the door frame.  She was holding up her finger which was missing the part above the top knuckle. Pandemonium broke out in the house. I was crying almost hysterically as I automatically found a clean cloth and applied direct pressure to stop the bleeding.  My sister-in-law retrieved the severed fingertip from the door jamb and put it on ice.  My mother in law called 911 for help and my boys quickly said a prayer.  Then Jacob called a couple we knew from our church and told them what had happened. 

I was amazed that our friends, Alyce and Denny, beat the emergency team to our house that night. The EMT’s applied a clean bandage to Sara’s finger, gave her a stuffed teddy bear and prepared her fingertip in a sterile bag.  Our friends offered to drive us to the hospital instead of the ambulance, and as I was still in shock, I agreed.

I remember Jacob saying, “Heavenly Father’s got this mom”, as I left the boys with my mother-in-law.  I taught my children the power of prayer and that through God, miracles happen every day.  It was comforting to hear those words from my son as Sara and I got into our friend’s car and rushed to the emergency room. 

When we arrived at the hospital, Alyce brought Sara’s finger in and Denny got the orthopedic surgeon on call.  I was so grateful for those ministering angels from church. I know God sent them to us that night.   While we waited for the doctor in an ER room, Alyce turned to close the door so we could pray for Sara.  At that point I noticed the bag holding Sara’s finger hanging out of Alyce’s pants pocket. For the first time that evening, I almost passed out.  I mentioned the location of my daughter’s finger and Alyce quickly pulled it out, opened the door, and handed it to the nurse.  In the excitement of the moment, she had forgot that she had put it there when we arrived at the hospital.

Once more we asked God for His comfort for Sara and for the miracle of healing.  Then the doctor came into the room and looked at Sara’s tiny finger.  He said he wouldn’t attach it because it was too small to heal, it would take a miracle for the tip of her finger to attach.

I told him miracles were possible and that he needed to sew it back on.  He again refused, stating he didn’t believe it would work.  Alyce, who I might mention is just barely five feet tall, stood in front of the doctor, looked him in the eye, and demanded that he sew that finger tip back on. Where my pleadings had not worked with the doctor, the power of the Holy Spirit, through Alyce, convinced him to sew it back onto Sara’s hand. 

It wasn’t easy for Sara during the healing process. She was quite traumatized by the event and was in quite a bit of pain for the first few weeks.  As a family we continued our prayers in her behalf, and I reminded her every day that she was a miracle in my life and that God was working on one for her finger. I had no doubt He would bless my daughter, I had seen miracles while growing up in Alaska. 

I told Sara of a time when I was Jacob’s age and been a Christian for only a short time.

My mom had a close friend of hers over to visit our house which is 20 miles outside of Fairbanks, Alaska.  Her friend Pat had suffered a brain malady which required a piece of her skull to be removed for surgery and then replaced.  At times it would shift and cause seizures that would leave her incapacitated and require medical attention.  While Pat and her husband were visiting, her skull shifted, and she went into a seizure. We were miles from medical help and no one knew what to do to save Pat.  I immediately ran outside to the woods surrounding our house and started to pray for my mom’s friend.  I prayed for about 15 minutes and then came back into the house.  Pat was sitting on the couch talking to my mom as if nothing had happened.  After they left, my mom asked me where I went and what I had done.  I told my mom I went and prayed to God.  She told me just moments after I had left, they watched the piece of Pat’s skull move back into place and the seizures had stopped. 

God had gifted Pat with a miracle, and He would do the same for Sara.

When the time came to remove the bandage from Sara’s finger, the doctor prepared us for the worst. He was sure that the fingertip had not survived, and he would have to do a second surgery to remove the top of her finger.  Again, I reminded him that miracles happen, and she would be fine.  When the doctor saw Sara’s healed finger, he humbly agreed that indeed, it was a miracle.

God not only blessed Sara with a completely healed finger, He made the nail on that finger the prettiest on her hand.  Anytime Sara questioned her self-worth when she was growing up, I reminded her that God loves her and that she only needed to look at her finger to remember how much.