Hey My Beautiful Friend!

When you hear the word miracle, we think something instantaneous, pyrotechnic and beyond human abilities. Yet, I believe that the Divine acts through people, animals, and acts of nature, in order to create the miracles in your life, even if they are not the glittering ones, you might have imagined.

I wanted to share a miracle with you that just happened. It might not feel like a miracle to you, but it does to me. Let me set the stage….

My little fur baby, a 4-pound Pomeranian named Breezy, in September was having more and more health challenges. She was 19, turning 20 in January, and daily, more medical issues were happening. I had hoped like all the other health issues we had faced over the years (congestive heart failure, arthritis, Kidney disease, just to name a few), that the new symptoms of dementia, blindness, and ever increasing mobility issues where ones we could solve. I treated each day as precious. And I was asking for miracles. I asked my vets the week before Thanksgiving what kind of last ditch effort we could make to keep her going through Thanksgiving, since I was having the family here, and wanted it to be a joyful time. Dr. Sheree gave fluids and a B12 shot. And in a miracle kind of way Breezy was perkier and happier than in the previous month! My mom was here and we celebrated her 93 birthday on Thanksgiving as well (as it was happening the following Sunday). It was a joyful day… the one I had asked for.

The day after Thanksgiving, the miracle seemingly ended. My mom fell in her driveway while getting the paper, and fractured her pelvis and 2 ribs…..  The following weeks, she was in the ER, hospital admission, skilled nursing, and then a different skilled nursing home. My days were filled with driving to these facilities, visiting, participating in therapy and overseeing those details that can get forgotten in those places. My little doggie also was declining. The magic of the B2 wore off. I spent nights just holding her up so that she could eat or drink. I prayed for another miracle, and took her for another B12 shot the week before Christmas. I was bringing my mom to my house before Christmas so she could recover in a more relaxing environment. I envisioned the sweet energy of healing love for us all for Christmas.

On Christmas eve morning, I sat and watched my mom hold my little Breezy, and the two of them snuggled together. My Miracle.  Then the visiting nurse arrived for her assessment. It turned out mom’s heart rate was low… way too low. As the nurse was leaving, the she said she had to report this. While we waited for the next step,  I fed Breezy one of her favorite meals, and she ate it happily and then laid down for a nice snooze. I got the call from the nurse that then really shifted the day out of miracle mode… I needed to take mom to the ER to have her heart evaluated.

Mom was admitted to the hospital for low heart rate and high BP. She was going to have to spend Christmas in the hospital after all. When I got home that evening, I hugged Breezy, and gave her her evening meds, and then went to bed exhausted. At 2am Breezy cried out, which was not unusual, it happened when she would not be able to get herself up. But this time was different. I got her up, and her legs would not hold her. I tried to sooth her with all the normal things… drinks, foods… but she would cry and yelp again in a few minutes. As I held her, I realized, this was the moment that I had prolonged. She was ready to go. But it was Christmas. What would I do?

Over 19 years, I had become very connected to folks at my vets office, and my current vet for Breezy, Dr Sheree, loved her so much that she and I would text about how she was doing or I would share pictures of her outfit of the day. I was under orders that is anything out of the ordinary would happen, to message her. But on Christmas Day?  I decided I would, and my amazing vet offered to come into the office that day to help her cross the Rainbow Bridge. Dr Sheree was kind, caring and beyond loving to my little girl.  Is that a miracle? Yes… a strange one. But the one that allows my little fluff to no longer be limited by her aging body.  She was free. I was shattered…. But also, the weight of caring for her and worrying constantly about her was now gone.

When we got back home, I pulled myself together and went to the hospital to visit my mom. It turns out, the combination of meds used at the skilled nursing home were to blame for the low heart rate and not managing her BP. There was talk of a pacemaker, but that proved to not be necessary. On December 28^th they sent her back home with me, where she has been able to relax, sleep, eat favorite foods, and recover. Is this a miracle? At 93, it could have been deadly if the visiting nurse had not insisted that we go to the ER.

You might be thinking, LuAnn, why are you telling us this long sad story as a ‘miracle’?

Because sometimes the miracle you want or design in your mind that you are praying for is really not the one that is best for all long term. I had my Thanksgiving miracle, and then bonus times after that. But the way things worked out, I was able to be fully present for my little dog passing, and know that my mom was being cared for in the hospital. And, I can devote more energy to mom’s recovery now.

If you feel you need a miracle, know that something in your life might also have to end. It might not be as dramatic as this. But if you are not willing to change anything, how can the miracle fit into your life?

Endings mean something else is beginning.  Night ends with the dawn of a new day. You might be in the midst of a miracle right now, and it doesn’t feel like it because you cannot see the whole picture yet.

Think of what you can release from your life right now… to allow new opportunities and miracles to blossom.

Here are to miracles for us all in 2026!