The miracle God had me meet.

I'm going to be writing from prompts until I get out of this real-life blogging rut. So the prompt for today is: Miracles.

This story relates back to #55 on my Life List.

About one year ago I got on a kick for donating blood. Weird? Maybe, probably, but I felt like I was saving someone's life and I had to do it. I marched into the small, crowded office building where United Blood Services was set up and I waited. It was my very first time giving blood for a donation center and I was kind of a wreck. I bit down on my granola bar and looked around the room. I heard a young woman speak, she looked foreign but spoke with an elegance I hadn't heard for some time. She said that it was her fifth time giving blood and that it was her mission to help others because she knew how crucial blood was.

My curiosity got the best of me and I looked up at her only to see that this girl was missing half of her right arm and half of her left leg. My heart sank as I listened to her story of how she was born in America, but took trips to her homeland with her family. I listened to her speak without anger or regret about how she became the victim of a roadside bomb. No, she wasn't angry - but I was. I was infuriated that her own people would cause such a horrible fate.

I closed my eyes and looked down at my arms and legs. I remember feeling so sad for her... but I was in that room for a reason and she was there for a reason too. I saw the beauty that was within her heart and heard in her voice just how much she wanted to save a life. I knew that what I was witnessing wasn't a mistake and that God led me to her for such a clear reason.

We have all been given blessings in our life and we all have so much to be thankful for. Through our moments of deep sorrow and great joy, we are put in these situations for a reason - if only to change our viewpoint and see how much of a difference we can make with an open heart and a kind soul.

Since I met her, I've given blood three times. I am passing on her story to you in hopes that you will find the courage to go beyond what you have done or what you think you are capable of and make the difference in the world and in yourself that you never believed was possible.