I believe in miracles as I firmly believe that I would not still be here on earth were it not for miracles in my life.

In my book, A Miracle Within You: Paddling Through Cancer, I write:

My mother often told me, “There is a miracle in you!” The power within her words has echoed in my consciousness for as long as I can remember. I hear her gentle, southern voice calm me as I paddle through the fiercest storms of my life. Believing that there was a miracle within me, I opened myself to the possibility and was divinely guided from the chaos of invasive breast cancer to a balanced state of being. “Out of difficulties grow miracles,” says Jean de la Bruyere. I believe that the body has an innate capacity to heal through exercising one’s faith in God or a Higher Power and, when necessary, applying a combination of appropriate holistic and Western medicine. I believe healing of the body alone is not enough. It is imperative to recognize the connection that exists between our thoughts, emotions and physical wellbeing. By improving my inner environment of thoughts, beliefs, and emotions I shifted my life into a more healthy pattern. I finally realized the need to fully release my emotional burdens and cultivate more self-love so that I could reach peace within my heart.

^{Miracle page from A Miracle Within You. ©Tish Litchfield, 2024.}

The words of someone dear to you may linger long after they are gone, serving as a catalyst for strength, growth and perhaps even miracles in the making when you need them most.

As The Cancer presented itself in my life, the words echoed from my soul, “There is a miracle within you.” Those precious words are from the spirit angel of my beloved mother and became my most significant and compelling mantra in healing myself. I knew that these words held great spiritual power for me during my journey with The Cancer. I believe in miracles as I firmly believe that I would not still be here on earth were it not for miracles in my life. I have had several close encounters with death, from a bus accident over a cliff as a child, to a heart attack, near drowning in Lake Tahoe, and The Cancer as an adult. But by the grace of God and miracles, I am still here, living my best life!

Miracles are validated by our feelings. When something miraculous happens, it may be too big to accept, and we might feel more comfortable pretending it didn’t happen because it is so unbelievable! Acceptance has a compelling way of confronting us through miracles. The proof may be undeniable, yet we may attempt to explain it logically and take away the glorious power of experiencing miracles.  The essence of a miracle or any supernatural occurrence is felt deep within your soul as you stand in the center of an extraordinary event.  More than once, I have thought that I might die. I’ve actually seen my life flash before me in the same way as some people have expressed during near-death experiences.

How do you explain a miracle? You don’t. I only know that our feelings around such mystical events become our proof that something unworldly has happened in our presence and intervened to assist us. The intrigue of miracles is that they are not to be explained, but yet those who’ve experienced one become believers.

On the way home from a visit with my sister, just after the final pages of my book had been designed, it was as if something else was guiding me. I spontaneously turned off the highway and found myself at the entrance of the graveyard where my parents rest. It was a beautiful bright summer day, and it must have been early on a weekday because the cemetery was empty of visitors, but for me. It was eerily quiet save for a few chirping birds fluttering about within the branches of nearby trees. I was excited about coming close to completing the writing of my book and I wanted to share this news with my parents, who I miss immeasurably.

My dream of writing a book to help others suffering from cancer was coming to fruition, and I was in a really good space, feeling rather accomplished and experiencing a new sense of purpose in my life. I stood near their shared headstones, reading their names, the epitaphs and the dates of their births and deaths. I felt a slight breeze as the hearty leaves of the stately Magnolia tree rattled. Our family had planted that tree, a favorite of our mother’s, over her grave in 1985 so its trunk and branches were mature, stretching out toward the heavens above. The waxy, deep green leaves formed silhouettes cradling the magnificent, white and pleasingly fragrant magnolia blossoms.

What a sacred and peaceful setting to be there, standing next to my beloved parent’s grave. Yes, their grave; they were not buried in the traditional manner of side by side.  My mother’s remains were buried in a casket while my father was cremated and placed in an urn. My parents were opposites in many ways, including their last wishes.  That said, my father wished to have his ashes buried with my mother and so his urn was gently placed on top of my mother’s casket. As I spoke with them on that warm June day I looked upward, observing my surroundings.  The park was so very peaceful and, as always, in nature, I see through the eyes of my soul. Astonishingly, bright rays of sunlight came streaming down through the Magnolia tree–almost brighter than my eyes could take! My body was instantly blanketed by a sudden flash of warm sunrays that felt ethereal, otherworldly. As I prayed, in that very instant, what truly felt like a miraculous, divine intervention occurred as if I was witnessing a miracle of sorts. Perhaps the spirits of my parents were saying, “Congratulations Tish, you did it! We are proud of you!” I was shocked by what I was seeing and feeling.

Looking back, I’m sorry I allowed my human ego to take over as I stepped out of the heavenly rays of light in an attempt to capture them through a quick photograph because, with that action, the divine moment was over!  I lost the opportunity to bask in the glory of a most precious spiritual moment.  What I got in the photograph was nothing like what I witnessed, as if it was not to be photographed.  All I know is that I felt a pure, genuine, unquestionable spiritual energy at that moment. The feeling was miraculous!

Miracles are always in the making. It was a miracle that I survived cancer. It was a miracle that I finished my book. And it was a miracle to see the glorious light of my parents celebrating my achievement. We need only to open our hearts and souls to the possibilities, believing that a divine power is reaching out to guide, love and support us. There is a miracle within you!