One cold and dark day while serving my mission in Trondheim, Norway, I met a man on the street who, after I had asked him if he believes in miracles, responded that "Miracles are whatever we want them to be. They are fantasy. They are made up from the mind of man and are only fine, ridiculous stories." Today, as a new father with a strengthened testimony of the truthfulness of miracles, I can prove this statement wrong.
Just one minute after January 26th, 2011 had begun, Emilia Rebecca Cazier was born into this world. After cutting the umbilical cord and looking happily at my beautiful and strong wife, I followed my new daughter over to the portion of the room where some nurses were taking her vital signs. Excitedly, I looked at my beautiful new addition to my life, but was nervous to realize that Emilia--blue, silent, and motionless--lay struggling with life on the table. After tapping my daughter vigorously, looking for a cry or movement or anything, the nurse immediately called on her radio for help. Suddenly, two additional nurses burst into the room with an infant resuscitation device, which was used to send electrical shocks through my minute-old daughter.
At that very moment everything around this little tiny human seemed to fade. Exams, grades, money, ipods, cars, rent, and bills all instantaneously vanished from any care and thought in my mind. All I wanted and cared about was for my brand new daughter to cry. 20 milliters of fluid was extracted from Emilia's lungs and stomach, and efforts to ensure a regular oxygen level failed.
After attempting to reassure my worried wife that everything was ok with baby, I followed the nurse rolling Emilia in her clear crib down to the neonatal intensive care unit. As fast as she had been born, Emilia was now hooked up to half a dozen medical machines and instruments, with her beautiful skin being pierced by needles. Despite the rush and haze all about her, little Emilia lay still and motionless in the crib.
As I looked upon this tiny daughter of God being pricked with needles, a hallowed thought and feeling soon swept my soul: "It's ok, Emilia. Jesus was pierced too. He understands you, and He is here with you."
After understanding the concerns and magnitude of Emilia's condition, a strong feeling came to me that a priesthood blessing is needed. Confirmation was affirmed when my father, after seeing me leave the NICU and come to him, said, "Are we going to give her a blessing?"
With my father-in-law anointing her small and precious head, I placed a few fingers upon Emilia's fragile forehead and pronounced a blessing of healing by the authority of the holy priesthood of God and in the sacred name of our Savior.
Looking back at this now, I struggle to grasp the complexity of this miracle that occurred. Within twenty minutes, baby Emilia's oxygen level went from a life-threatening 50% to a healthy 90%. Although still unable to cry, Emilia could breathe on her own with little help from the machines. The nurses, with amazement, noted how quickly Emilia's condition curved. "I haven't seen something like this," one nurse commented. "I wish we could prescribe that to every patient in here!"
If I could meet that man I met in Trondheim, Norway again, I would plea with him to listen to his statement with all his heart. I would ask him to truly consider if miracles are made by man. Are they really fantasy?
Almost 2000 years ago, the greatest miracle to ever occur upon the face of the earth was pierced, just like my tiny baby girl, but for all of us. With great drops of blood, our Savior Jesus Christ atoned for all of our sorrows, our sins and mistakes, and our flaws. He perfectly felt each and every bump of every road. He knows what it feels like to watch a daughter struggle to survive. He knows what it feels like to fall upon your face in sorrow. He knows what it feels like to make mistakes and struggle with decisions. Perfectly, He died for us in love.
Miracles are real, for Jesus Christ is real. Because He lives, we too shall live. The miracle of Emilia, our little miracle, is that the power of Jesus Christ thrives today through the priesthood of God, and that our Savior overcame every literal thing imaginable for our happiness. "And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles... Behold, I say unto you... God has not ceased to be a God of miracles" (Mormon 9:15).
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