Miracle Moments, Part III

Today we conclude a three-part interview with Mary Lou McCall of Miracle Moments.

So, let's move today from the miracles in faraway Medjugorje to closer, more personal miracles. Would you us a little about your five sons and how they have influenced your life?

My sons are my most amazing gifts. They are 23, 19, 15, 11, and 10 years of age. They are the mirrors to my soul--challenging me, inspiring me and helping me reach higher than I ever thought possible. They help complete me, by making me want to be the best I can possibly be.

The older I get, the more I realize that my sons are also a powerful extension of me, since I have influenced their thoughts, their feelings, and so many of their decisions. That realization highlights a tremendous resonsibility which I have taken even more seriously with each passing day. Their childlike ease and acceptance...reminds me that God wants me to "let go and let God".

Each of my children has a unique personality and I marvel at their varied temperments and talents. As I have grown spiritually, I find I have become more patient with them, allowing each to grow at his individual pace, not mine. In addition, I am fine tuning my reactions to their behavior and to their decisions, because they have taught me that a gentle, understanding mother builds a sense of trust and openness.

They are helping me grow closer to the girl God had in mind when He designed me. That's pretty powerful!

What are you most excited about right now?

I am passionate about spreading the hopeful, spiritual message of addiction recovery.

You have shared your past struggles with alcohol and wrote on your blog about taking a friend to her first AA meeting, in a post entitled "Keep Coming Back". Why are you passionate about reaching out to other addicts?

Hearing the harrowing stories of addiction and the miraculous transformations of lives that were in bondage to drugs or alcohol proves that nothing is impossible if we turn our will and our lives over to a power greater than ourselves. It is so inspiring to hear former atheists and agnostics who almost died in their addictions professing passionate Love for a higher power. I would like to educate society about the disease of addiction to help remove the stigma, so that more people will seek and accept help.

Addiction is cunning, baffling, and powerful because it is an insidious force that suffocates the souls of its victims while at the same time destroys families and society. A priest once told a friend of mine that a legion of spirits is released every time a bottle of alcohol is opened...those spirits seek out the spiritually and emotionally wounded.

The twelve steps of AA lead the suffering person through an honest renewal of heart, mind and soul that inspires a closer relationship with God and a desire to serve others. I would like to promote a clearer understanding that recovery is in fact possible and that addicts are being reborn every single day through the twelve step program, which is absolutely divinely inspired.

Of all the work you've done, what has gratified you the most?

Of course, my primary vocation as mother has deeply impacted my sense of who I am and who God intends for me to become. That maternal role has brought me the greatest joy.

Professionally, my international travels to produce documentaries on the political and religious changes in communist countries felt especially gratifying and taught me the power of steadfast faith. The personal stories of individuals who clung to God in the face of grueling persecution left an indelible imprint on my life.

I have also been deeply touched by the interviews I've done with near death survivors--individuals who had seen the "light" and even the "dark" and who were sent back to this life with a deep conviction in the power of God's universal Love and forgiveness for all of humankind.

Mary Lou, when you make it into heaven, what will be your first question for Jesus?

I suppose I will thank Jesus for loving me and then ask, "What do you need me to do next?"