Find Religion

Whether you think it is a religious miracle or a medical miracle, the fact is that Yahoo! and other news sources are reporting what is, in fact, a miracle. After six years in a vegetative state, Christa Lilly awoke for three whole days and was able to communicate with friends, family, and reporters. She awakened during this period four other times (the last time being 8 months ago), but always for very brief periods. Lilly has since reentered the coma-like vegetative state, but her family is hopeful. Her first words were “I’m fine.” You can read the whole story here.

Last time I talked about a scientific miracle, when Flora, a reptile who had never been in the pretense of a male, gave birth, I got some backlash for calling it a miracle. Religious values aside, what, then, is a miracle?

According to dictionary.com, a miracle has multiple meanings, the first being “an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.” The second meaning given is “such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God.”

Is this awakening a miracle?

Yes, I believe it is. Even if you don’t believe in God, the fact remains the doctors have no idea how this woman has been able to awake after so long as a vegetable. There are multiple theories, but until any of them are proven (if they can be proven), this qualifies as a miracle because it really is an extraordinary event that surpasses all knowledge.

The second point this event must meet to qualify is that it is ascribed to a supernatural cause or considered a work of God.

You may not believe that. Millions of people do not. However, the family firmly believes that God is sending her back to them periodically so that they will not worry about her.

Furthermore, even if doctors ever can proven why she is waking up, that doesn’t mean God isn’t the one causing it. I mean, for example, say there’s a certain medication she’s taking that is causing her brain to stimulate occasionally and wake up. There are dozens of other medications she could probably take that achieve the original effect intended. What made her doctors choose that particular medication? Why was she affects when no other coma patients were? Isn’t is a wonder in itself that her family didn’t give up hope long ago and pull the plug?

If you don’t believe that a higher power caused these turns of evens, then the alternative is to believe that these things just fell into place randomly–and really, can’t you look at that as something beyond human power? If it is caused by something beyond human power, this qualifies as a miracle.

This was a medical miracle, whether on not you believe in God, and my best wishes go out to the Lilly family. Go ahead, rip apart my argument. I dare you!

miracle, medical miracle, coma, God, religion, faith, Christa Lilly, awaking from a coma