Religion

Jairus' 12-year-old daughter was sick.

She was dying, but not dead.

Jairus held out hope.

He'd heard stories about a man named Jesus who had been traveling all over Israel opening blind eyes, causing the lame to walk, the deaf to hear and, yes, healing the sick.

Jairus believed this man could do what doctors couldn't. He believed this man could bring his daughter back from the threshold of death. (Mark 5:23)

Whether by luck or sheer desperation, Jairus found this prophet, this healer.

But as he led Jesus to his daughter, one of Jairus' servants came to him and told him not to bother. His daughter was dead.

Jesus, then, said to Jairus, "Be not afraid, only believe."

They continued on, Jairus still hoping.

Love can bring a hope that might seem unreasonable to the casual observer.

At Jairus' home, a crowd of mourners turned to mockers when Jesus told them the child was not dead but sleeping.

After the crowd was turned away, Jesus and the girl's parents went in to her.

The strong and calloused hands of the Savior gently touched the tender hands of the lifeless girl. He said arise, and to the amazement of her parents, she stood and walked.

Who can know the joy they must have felt, the joy of regaining a child thought to be lost forever?

Annie Pearl Garrett of Munford says she knows.

Even though they're separated by some 2,000 years, Ms. Garrett said she and Jairus are kindred spirits.

On the morning of July 2, her daughter, Joanett Williams, already suffering from a list of medical problems, woke up with severe chest pains. Joanett, who lives with Ms. Garrett, repeatedly told her mom she was dying. Ms. Garrett called 9-1-1, but, by the time paramedics arrived, the situation was approaching hopelessness.

When they loaded Joanett into the ambulance, she was unresponsive and not breathing.

"I was praying, 'Lord, please don't take Joanett.'"

Ms. Garrett said she drove to the hospital emergency room planning to contact an undertaker once she arrived.

"I just knew she was dead," Ms. Garrett said. "When I walked in and saw her moving, I said 'Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus.'"

Two of Joanett's arteries were completely blocked — one beyond repair.

Doctors told Ms. Garrett her daughter must have a guardian angel because Joanett died that morning and that few come back the way she did.

Paramedics told Ms. Garrett that they did what they were supposed to do, but that it was God who brought her daughter back.

"It's the same thing," Ms. Garrett said. "He brought Jairus' daughter back, and he brought my daughter back."

A study released this week surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults and found that 57 percent believe God can revive dying patients.

If you're sick, take medicine, see a physician, follow all their instructions, but keep believing for a miracle.

Just because God doesn't always pull people back from the brink of death, it doesn't mean he can't.