A God of Miracles

I believe in a God of miracles. I have found that there are two different ways that the Lord works miracles. Let me tell you two stories:

1. A man is bound with cords, and his brothers seek to take away his life. His sisters and mother plead for his release. In the midst of this turmoil, he prays for strength and receives enough to break his bonds (1 Nephi 7:17-18).
2. Two men are wrongfully imprisoned. They pray, and the very walls of the prison fall down around them. They come forth out of the prison unhurt (Alma 14: 26-29).

Often, God gives us strength to break our bonds, and other times he makes the prison fall down around us. I have found this principle to be powerfully true in my life.  My heart often feels like Nephi's:

Notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord . . . my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man [or woman] that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh . . . and when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth. 2 Nephi 4:17-18.

When I was seventeen years old, they found cancer in my eye. This was a very dramatic dianoses, and it terrified me. However, after only a few months of testing and surgery, the doctors gave me a clean bill of health; it was over before I really knew what had happened.

I wanted the same experience when I was diagnosed with depression. I starting taking medication, and I expected the prison walls around my mind to fall down. They didn't. Over time--through prayer and patience--I found that God would work the miracle of healing a day at a time. I still get down on my knees multiple times a day and ask for help to make it through the next few hours . . . and He always does. To me, that is a miracle.