Both of these definitions were at play for Tony Yarijanian the day after Valentine's Day, 2004. As he lay smoldering in the street with burns over 90% of his body, his eyes nothing more than two burned out holes, he saw angels holding him up under the arms and urging him to go toward a breathtaking light that was beautiful and tempting. He watched from a place above his smoking black body as the flames in the building shot up hundreds of feet behind his body on the street and he said to the beings, "I am not ready to go."
After the explosion he lay in the hospital bed under sterile yellow sheets, smelling of something newly barbecued and the former Tony Yarijanian was unrecognizable. He was in a coma and everyone feared that even though the Grossman Burn Center was well equipped to handle his condition, he would surely die. Tony Yarijanian murmured in his 'sleep;' as he continued to be touched by something bigger than himself. He was actually conversing with burn victims who passed away on that hospital floor. He could see them and describe them.
Miracle after miracle renewed the faith and hope of the people who rallied around him; many of them Christians who formed prayer circles for a man they didn't even know. He inspired devout believers and probably a few non-believers as well.
Tony Yarijanian 's story as a survivor who was reborn through fire is a testament to the human spirit's will to live but it is also a story that has to be told-it is bigger than we are for it is a testament to the Holy Spirit.
