“Coincidence or Divine Intervention?”

Presenter: Dick Stetler – April 11, 2023

    On December 22, 2001 an event was unfolding that was devastating for everyone involved.  This drama was taking place in a rural hospital in Appleton, South Carolina.  Lying in the intensive care unit was a four-old-girl whose rare cardiac condition was decaying with each passing hour. 

    The medical staff at Appleton had contacted major medical centers in Augusta, Greenville, Columbia, and Charleston.  All of them had the same recommendation, “Have her medevaced to Children’s Hospital in Boston!”  Too much time had passed.  Transporting her would have meant instant death. The medical staff knew she would be gone by morning. 

    Her mom, dad, and the family’s pastor sat by Sarah’s bedside waiting for the end to come.  They were not praying for a miracle.  The parents of this little girl were amazing people.  Their prayers were thanking God for God’s presence during this very vulnerable time in their lives. 

    Just down the hall from the ICU was the birthing center of the hospital.  A woman had just delivered a healthy son two hours earlier.   Her sister and her husband had just arrived in time for the birth.  They had planned to celebrate Christmas with the new arrival.  The new mother’s sister had just come out of the bathroom and was getting a drink at the water fountain when she overheard two doctors discussing the impending death of the little girl.

    She said, “I could not help overhearing your story.  That’s a tough one.  Right at Christmas!”  “Yes, this really is a shame.  The surgeon who wrote the book on her condition is out of town.”

    Hearing this, the woman became curious and asked, “Is the doctor that you had in mind Rebecca Clemenson?”  They said, “Yes! Do you know her?” She said, “Yes, I know her very well. I am Rebecca Clemenson.  My sister just delivered a baby in this hospital and we are here to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s.” 

    The two doctors looked at each other with a look that communicated, “What are the odds of this happening?”  Dr. Clemenson said: “I may be able to help with your patient, but I don’t have privileges here.  If you take care of the necessary protocols for this hospital and assemble a surgical team, I’ll change my clothes and scrub.  Is this doable?”  They said, “Yes, we will get that done.  I’m sure there will be no issue with getting approvals.”  “Good!  First, I would like to introduce myself to Sarah!”

    When the three doctors entered Sarah’s ICU cubicle and announced what they were going to do, the emotions of the couple and their pastor were overwhelming.  Dr. Clemenson sat on her bed, took her hand and said, “Sarah, my name is Doctor Clemenson and I am going to repair your heart in a few minutes.”  Pastor Tina with tears streaming down her face said, “This is a God thing.”  Dr. Clemenson responded, “If that is the case, let’s not keep God waiting.”

    The buzz of Dr. Clemenson’s presence on the premises spread throughout the hospital staff like a wild fire.  A number of physicians returned to the hospital to assist as part of the surgical team or simply to watch as a master pediatric surgeon did the procedure.  The surgery was long and tedious because the hospital was ill-equipped with the technology that she had at her disposal at Children’s Hospital in Boston. 

    In spite of the odds, Dr. Clemenson gave Sarah, her parents, and their pastor the greatest Christmas gift possible just in time for Christmas Day.  Dr. Clemenson told the parents that she had just repaired the most massive hole in their daughter’s heart that she had ever encountered.  “Sarah is a very special child,” she said, “Most children with a condition like this do not live beyond the first year.  She will require several more surgical procedures, but right now she is stable.”

    If people consider this incident a miracle of God, how do the people with such a faith explain the countless times when others die?  If God did not interfere to prevent the death of Jesus, why would God choose to become involved in the rescue of Sarah Ann Cummings? 

    Was this a miracle or simply a coincidence?  There are many stories like this that inspire articles and books that have been written. Yet, people still answer mysteries like this one simply by saying, “What are the odds of this happening?”

Some time ago a little girl found her jelly jar filled with coins that she had collected through the years.  She slipped away from her home quietly in the early afternoon and entered a Rexall Drug Store six blocks away.  She tried to get the pharmacist to pay attention to her, but he was engaged in conversation with a businessman. 

    She had waited long enough after doing everything she could to gain the attention of the pharmacist, but being a child, he did not pay any attention to her.  Finally, she intentionally dumped all her coins on the counter, an act that made considerable noise.  The distracting sound got the attention of the pharmacist. With a very annoyed voice he asked, “What is it that you want?”  Tess said, “I want to talk to you about my brother.  He is very sick and I need to buy a miracle for him.”             

    He said, “I beg your pardon.” She continued, “His name is Andrew.  I heard my mommy and daddy talking.  I heard daddy say that something was growing in his head and that only a miracle would save his life.  I don’t know what that is but I am here to buy one.”  With a more sympathetic tone in his voice he said, “I’m sorry honey, but we don’t sell miracles.”

    She hastily responded, “I have the money to pay for it.  If this isn’t enough, I can get more.”  The pharmacist looked down at the counter and saw lots of pennies, nickels, and dimes.  He did not know what to say.  She was one determined little girl. 

    The other man stooped down and spoke to her, “What kind of miracle does your brother need?”  Tess said, “I don’t know. He needs an operation and my daddy can’t pay for it, so I want to use my money to buy a miracle.” The well-dressed man asked, “How much do you have there?”  With a great deal of pride she said, “I have exactly one dollar and eleven cents.”  He said, “Wow!  That’s a lot of money for a girl your age.  Do you know what? Would you take me to meet your brother and your parents?  I want to hear more about the kind of miracle your brother needs.”           

    The two walked the six blocks to the little girl’s home.  The worried parents answered the door and were shocked to find their daughter in the company of a strange man. They immediately thought that something horrible must have happened.  They were not aware that she had left their home.              

    The strange man introduced himself.  He said, “I live in Chicago and have been visiting my brother who is the pharmacist at the Rexall Drug Store down the street.”  He told them how Tess had come into the store to buy a miracle. He said, “My name is Dr. Carlton Armstrong, and I am a neurosurgeon.  Perhaps I can help with Andrew’s condition.”             

    After receiving some additional details about their son’s tumor, Dr. Armstrong made arrangements for the family to travel to and reside near the University of Chicago Medical Center. The operation was extensive but entirely successful. Dr. Armstrong told them that their son should recover completely.   

    Some weeks later a letter arrived from the hospital.  The hearts of both of Tess’ parents sank because they knew that they could not possibly pay for all that they had experienced.  The itemized invoice listed the costs of the pre-op tests, the hospital room, the operating room, the anesthesiologist, and the surgeon. The total came to $1.11 cents.  They both realized that there had to be some accounting error.  After hearing their concern, Tess assured them, “No, daddy, there is no mistake. I promised the doctor that I would pay for everything.”  It was then that Tess’s mom and dad realized that a miracle had just visited their family. 

    Can any theologian explain how miracles like these take place without some kind of divine intervention?  Many pastors have experienced circumstances like this happening to their parishioners repeatedly throughout their careers.  Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1926-2004), a Swiss-American psychiatrist has an answer for these kinds of episodes. 

    Angels play a vital role in activities that appear beyond any human explanation.  They can involve themselves in small ways by connecting-the-dots for those who are living in their physical forms.  These episodes do take place but such stories remain extremely personal and never make the headlines.  When stories like this surface in a book, such books are judged as psychic and belong in a category reserved for Mediums, Past-Life Regression-Hypnosis, UFO sightings, Astrology, etc.

    As with all such miracles, only one response appears correct for everyone.  That response is gratitude.  Some circumstances cannot be explained.  The eyes of the spirit can bring vision and understanding to numerous mysteries of life. These experiences may cause people to Awaken spiritually after which many of them are never the same. They know that something miraculous has just happened to them and no explanation is necessary.