How can a 16-year old girl fall 3500 feet from an airplane and survive? It is difficult to find a news article about Makenzie Wethington that doesn’t include the word “miracle.” Makenzie had always wanted to parachute out of an airplane so she and her dad drove from Texas to Oklahoma, where her jump would be legal.
There are many conversations about what went wrong and who will be considered at fault, but one thing is not being debated: Makenzie should not have survived her fall – but she did. Every day, for the rest of her life, is a gift of God.
Makenzie’s dad jumped first and watched as he saw his daughter falling to earth with an unopened parachute. He said he was praying the whole time asking, “please God, don’t be Makenzie.” But it was. Makenzie’s sister, Meagan, told reporters that “God’s hand caught her.”
I was thinking about all this family went through, and all that will be ahead of them. I wonder how their lives will be changed because of their miracle. What should we learn from Makenzie’s modern day miracle?
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<iframe style=”float: right; border: 1px solid #000000; background-color: #C0C0C0; padding: 2px; margin: 10px; -moz-border-radius: 3px; -khtml-border-radius: 3px; -webkit-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px;” width=”400″ height=”225″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/rX1Shsuz76I?rel=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>{/source}My first thought: never strap on a parachute for a good time! My son and daughter-in-law just went to a place in Dallas that does indoor skydiving and had a great time. If you have always wanted to skydive, consider that option. Remember, Scripture says, “lo, I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20 KJV). Makenzie’s family would say that God is with you at 3500 feet as well, but I don’t think I’ll test it!
My second thought: Makenzie’s dad prayed that the person falling without a parachute would not be his daughter. I doubt it would have crossed his mind to pray that whoever was falling would survive. He didn’t ask for the impossible, but God gave it anyway. I think this is an important lesson from this story. We need to ask God to do what only God can do. We should ask for miracles.
I am guilty of praying small prayers too often. I think deep down I hesitate to ask God for things that I don’t think are going to happen or things that I don’t believe are possible. Jesus said, “with God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). I hope I would have prayed for Makenzie to survive the fall, but I don’t know if it would have crossed my mind to ask for the impossible. How amazing that God, who knew the desires of a dad’s heart, would grant the impossible.
Skeptics will say, if it was a miracle, why did Makenzie suffer such severe injuries? I wish I had a perfect answer – I think Makenzie will have some answers someday. Her prayer page on Facebook is already revealing some of those answers. She survived the fall. She came off the breathing machine. She is up and walking. She is a miracle.
The world will forget and move on to other stories, but Makenzie’s family will celebrate each of her birthdays knowing they are a gift of God. They have been blessed, and they understand that.
I have spoken to people over the years who wanted to tell me about a miracle they had experienced. I always think it is interesting to hear their story. So much of the time the people are hesitant to share their story with the world. They wonder if people will doubt or question their experience and they worry people will think they are making it up.
Miracles happen in our world today but most of them don’t make the evening news. I wonder if the Lord would love to show the world that “nothing is impossible” for him.
What impossible thing is God leading you to pray for today? If Makenzie Wethington can fall 3500 feet from an airplane and survive, your miracle is possible as well.
One last thought, however. The Pharisees and Sadducees kept asking Jesus to do a miracle and prove he was the Messiah. His answer to them was this: “A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah” (Matthew 16:4). Jesus was referring to his death and resurrection.
You may think you have never seen a miracle, but you have. Every person who has been changed through salvation in Christ has experienced exactly what Makenzie did. We were headed to certain death – but because of Jesus, we survive forever. Pray for miracles, but don’t forget to thank God for the miracle(s) you have already received. If you would like to share your story, please use our comments section. We will post them as soon as possible.
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