Hazem Guirgis from Egypt I will always remember the biggest miracle of my life. It was twelve years ago on December 31, 1988. Everybody was very happy and ready for a New Year's celebration. I was busy because I was the volunteer responsible for the celebration at my church. All the people, the bishops, and the priests were happy and everyone had fun, but the responsibility I had put a lot of pressure on me. However, I thought, whatever the problem may be, I will not get in a rush. At about ten o'clock it happened: a short circuit on the bell of the church. I knew what we needed, and I had to fix it quickly. I hurried to get the cables, the tools and two of my assistants. "Hurry! Hurry!" Soon I was at the top of the church tower to fix the problem. There was one assistant on the ground, and the other one was with me on the top. I had just 30 minutes to get it done. I did my best and was very happy when the bell was working again. Unfortunately, the problem was not over yet. The assistant on the ground did not listen very well. He thought it was safe, so he pulled down the cable that was on my waist. In just three to four seconds I was falling from the fourth floor, 18 meters down to the ground. After about two weeks I still couldn't really remember what had happened. Was the bell working or not? What had happened to me? It took me four operations, three months in the hospital, about six months under physical treatment, and new teeth to get another life. This always makes me remember the most important things. It is important to slow down and not to do anything under stress and pressure. I also cannot forget that the Lord gave me a new life again. After this miracle, I will not avoid working as a volunteer for my church or the community again. No, I learned to be easy going. The big gift that is given for free is that the sun will be here every morning. As the Lord says to us, do not worry about tomorrow, but just be passionate.
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This story was selected from Julia Karet's ESL
writing project at Chaffey Community College: