Friend, Macrina Wiederkehr is a gifted writer whose inspirational words have touched the lives of thousands of people throughout the world. However, Macrina may never have helped so many people, or would not even be alive today-were it not for a remarkable person who dramatically touched her in the first hour of her life. You see, when Macrina was born, the doctor thought she was dead. In fact, he pronounced her dead. However there was a very special person in the delivery room who believed in tiny Macrina. That person was one of the nurses.

In her autobiography, Macrina Wiederkehr wrote:"My own birth into this world began with a proclamation of death. I was proclaimed dead. . .set aside as not living. The nurse, I am told, took me, worked with me, and believed in the spark of life in me. In essence, she convinced me that I could breathe"."Well friends, that tiny baby responded to the warm embrace of a compassionate nurse. And as a result, little Macrina survived and flourished.

Years later, as she reflected on this transforming experience, she wrote:
"The doctor placed me aside and announced the sad news of my death, right in the middle of my birth. But God was good and gave someone enough hope to believe in me.She leaned forward, believed in darkness, what some folks refused to believe in light.She believed in me; and she held me as though the stirring of the eternal had just begun, as though the mystery within was just being born. And the joy of it is: She was right! And because of her hope in me I live!

Friend, I believe this dramatic story underscores a fact so obvious, that we are often disposed to overlook it. You see, no one ever comes into this world on his or her own strength. In fact,each of you who are reading this message today is alive because of someone else's compassionate concern. But this is not only true of our first day on this planet! It's also true for most of our life. In reality, we human beings cannot survive into adulthood without thousands of caring gestures being performed on our behalf. Sometimes we notice them. Often we don't. However, the fact remains: each of uslive on this planet earth today because of the loving intervention of others in our life.

However Friend, there is an important lesson we can learn from Macrina Wiederkehr's near tragedy. It is that we can enjoy renewal in our lives today, because God's touch reaches us through the medium of fellow human beings. Macrina Wiederkehr, in her autobiography wrote: "But God was good and gave someone else enough HOPE to believe in me." -- Friend, God's loving care is often channelled to us through others who meet us during our life-time. By the same token, we do the same for others. Because after we accept God's HOPE in us, we have an opportunity to agree to become a living channel of the Comforter. Perhaps the following words from the pen of Macrina Wiederkehr might help you to better understand what I am trying to convey about God's Transforming Touch. Macrina writes:

"Could it be true
That some folks die
Because our hope is too small
To bring them forth?
It is good to remember
We do not give birth to ourselves.
We give birth to others
By believing in that first,
Small spark of life,
The spark we can barely see.
It is called "HOPE."

The truth is, none of us can be human alone. We need to be closely related to God and to enjoy meaningful, fulfilling relationships with others. If you would like to know more about how you can establish helpful, healthy and happy relationships, just write to Discovering A BETTER LIFE, P.O. Box 1540, Albany WA 6331 and ask for our FREE pamphlet titled "You Can't Be Human Alone" or Email: abl-alb@omninet.net.au