A Miracle?

"To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary.  To one without faith, no explanation is possible." ― St. Thomas Aquinas

Four years ago I experienced an amazing event.  It's a matter of healing and faith.  I can only describe what happened, and leave the conclusion to the reader.

About 17 years ago I began to lose function in my left hand. This greatly effected my playing the piano.  As the years progressed, pain accompanied the loss of action, and my right hand experienced the same loss and pain.  The type of pain was never consistent.  I eventually lost strength and the ability to hold things. Teaching the piano was coming to an end.  I couldn't imagine life without music, let alone my livelihood.

My family had witnessed my loss.  I remember getting strange looks when I accompanied my dad.  I couldn't hide my wrong notes as he sang.  Consequently, I stopped playing in public.  I used CDs and DVDs to aid in teaching my advanced students at the piano. At dinner my sons ran to catch their meal if I yelled, "Help!"  They did not like it when I dropped the dish full of food.  

In late 2009 I announced that I would retire in May, 2010.

Totally unrelated to this ongoing matter, something else was brewing.  The economy was bad, and Christmas approached.  Money was tight.  I tried to think of how I could put something out of nothing under the Christmas Tree for my young boys.  Something simple. I recognized I was not a creative person, but I refused to give up.

And I prayed.  Not necessarily for presents, but for my family.  I found myself praying the rosary.  Now to some, that may be an old prayer for old ladies or an outdated set of worry beads.  Oh well.  I decided to pray because it certainly couldn't hurt.  This particular day in December I ended up praying all four sets of the rosary (20 decades).  I was stuck in the car all day, and I had plenty of time.

That night I felt such peace--indescribable.  Peace, nonetheless.

I liked that peace, so I dared to repeat the 20 decades of the rosary a few days later.  The peace returned that night.  Thus, a habit formed.

A month later, I met with a friend who was a priest.  He noticed I couldn't hold my coffee mug, and I briefly explained my incapability of doing so.  He offered to bless my hands.  I accepted, but with the thought, "It couldn't hurt."  I was not expecting any great results.

I played for my niece's wedding Feb, 2014

I continued my rosary daily, saying all the mysteries of the rosary.  I prayed for my family.  I never asked for any healing for myself.  Within a few weeks of the blessing, I noticed the pain in my hands and wrists had subsided.  Function returned.  As of April 16, 2010 my hands and wrists were pain free.  I had also regained all use of my hands.

The story doesn't end there.  The summer of 2010 I found myself being offered a position as a pianist at our local church.  Four years later, I have full strength, no pain, and play more music than ever.