It's A Miracle
- Katlyn Gerken
- Feb 6, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 1, 2021
Miracle. A word that sparks wonder, shatters disbelief and, often, leads to more questions. Having attended Catholic schools for my entire educational career, I’m familiar with the word and even know of some incidences of miracles. One such incidence hits so close to home that I’m still trying to decipher the importance of my role in the whole thing.
Melissa and I met in August of 2013; a family friend of mine referred me to Melissa and her family. They were in search of a regular babysitter; I was a recent college grad looking for a job after working a summer camp. (More on that in a future blog post.) The moment I walked into their house for the first time, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. I knew this family was special, I just didn’t realize how special.
Melissa was approximately five months into a high-risk pregnancy. Three to four days a week, I helped out wherever I could, including lifting things she was advised not to: baskets of laundry, babies out of cribs, bags of groceries, etc. (#TeamworkForTheWin!)
Fast forward to December – a few days after Christmas – when I received a text announcing the birth of a healthy baby girl! How excited I was to hear there’d be another little one to help out with – and that the high-risk pregnancy had turned out okay. The next time I showed up to babysit, I met little Gemma. I was thrilled to have another December birthday buddy.
A few weeks after ringing in the new year, Melissa and I sat down at the kitchen table – children milling about the new house – because she wanted to tell me something. One morning in May of the previous year, while she was enduring the high-risk pregnancy, Melissa experienced extreme bleeding. (We’re talking life-threatening for her and the baby due to a tear in the placenta.)
She called out to Cardinal John Henry Newman, and suddenly all was fine. The bleeding stopped. The scent of roses filled the air. After this experience, the doctors gave her the “okay” to return to life as normal. But one thing they couldn’t tell her? How the placenta had healed.
This miracle, the second attributed to Cardinal John Henry Newman, sealed his sainthood. On October 13, he was canonized in Rome, and Melissa, her husband, and all of the kiddos attended! My heart beat with such joy and excitement when she texted me a photo of all nine (!) of them at the Coliseum a few days before the canonization.
I’ve learned so much from Melissa and her family and treasure every hour I get to spend with them. (It’s much less now than in 2013 because I have one of those full-time jobs.) They’re wise, patient, kind, funny, sweet and genuine. They’re the kind of family you want to be friends with, be neighbors with, and be a part of.
As my (now) fiancé said, God must have something special planned for that little girl.
Indeed. God must have something special planned for all of us. It just takes a little faith to find out what.
If you’d like to read more about St. John Henry Newman (pictured below) and Melissa’s experience, check out this article by Simon Caldwell of the Catholic Herald UK or watch Melissa on EWTN.
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