Narrow escape

Katherine

導讀：女童安娜貝爾·比姆先天患有腸梗阻（pseudo-obstruction），接受長期治療也無法治愈，但沒想到事情出現轉機；某天她爬上大樹玩耍不慎跌落，頭部因受到3次強烈撞擊而昏迷，身體卻只有輕微擦傷，腸梗阻更不藥而愈，她說會出現這些“奇跡”是因為遇到耶穌。

For thousands of years， humans have struggled with the question， “Is there life after death？” According to recent survey， 55% of people totally believe there is an afterlife， 37% are unsure， and 8% do not believe.

Most days， I fall under that middle class — but lately， as more and more miraculous stories cross my path， I feel forced to question my position...

Annabel Beam was just 11 years old when her life was forever changed. One second she was playing with her sisters， and the next she was sitting in the lap of someone very special. Her miraculous story is one you certainly dont hear every day...

Annabel Beam， now 14 years old， is no stranger to struggle. At age 5， little Annabel was diagnosed with two incurable digestive disorders（無法治愈的消化紊亂）. These digestive disorders， which are life-threatening and incredibly painful， required many hospital visits and medications throughout her young life. The pain was so bad. Annabel one day turned to her mom and said， “Mommy， I want to go to heaven and live with Jesus（耶穌）.”

Soon after， Annabels sad wish was nearly allowed. While climbing a large cottonwood tree， Annabel was sent dropping down 30 feet， headfirst， when a branch suddenly gave way. She was rushed to the hospital by helicopter. But when doctors examined her， they realized Annabel hadnt gotten a single harm. Whats more， it seemed her incurable digestive disorders had somehow disappeared. That was when Annabel showed something shocking...

During her fall， the 11-year-old girl said she went to heaven. There， she saw the golden gates， her grandma Mimi， and one very special figure： Jesus. According to Annabel， she sat upon His lap and asked to stay — but she was told her work on Earth was not done. He sent her back， telling her that when she was saved， her pain would be gone.

Now Annabels miraculous story is sweeping the globe. While some are moved by her vision， others are more doubtful. But that doesnt trouble the brave little girl： “You dont have to believe my story is real. I believe its real，” said Annabel. “If you dont， oh well. Youre missing out...”

Vocabulary

struggle with v. 糾結

survey n. 調查

diagnose v. 診斷

life-threatening adj.有生命危險的

incredibly adv. 難以想象地

helicopter n. 直升飛機