Pastor, Musician Encounters God in the ‘Secret Place’ of an MRI Machine

Pastor Angela Donadio is a self-described adventure junkie. An ordained minister, she’s also an author, speaker and missions advocate as well as a gifted pianist, worship leader and recording artist. But earlier this year, her life of adventure came to an abrupt halt when another driver failed to yield at an intersection and a serious accident ensued.

“I saw her coming, and instinctively my hand hit the horn,” Donadio told Dr. Steve Greene on a popular episode of the Greenelines podcast. “I hit the brakes, and my airbag deployed. And I was unfortunately knocked unconscious. And then when I came to, I thought the car was on fire. I’ve never had an airbag deploy; the smoke fills your car. And just for a second, it smelled like fireworks, and my mind was trying to wrap around what was happening. And I was by myself in the car, and then I looked down and saw the airbag and the burns on my hands—and that I couldn’t move them.”

Taken to the hospital by ambulance, Donadio, who has overcome previous health challenges, says she found herself once again facing a hospital table and an MRI.

“But I was not expecting the fact that they were going to flatten my hand completely down and clamp it in order to take the MRI,” she said. “And when you’re hurting like that in your hand, and if you think it’s broken, and my head was really pounding from this concussion headache, it’s hard. And I was lying underneath that arch of an MRI machine. And I just could feel the tears welling up, and my head was throbbing … they had to just give me a minute to even be able to flatten my hand like that.

“And I was in that kind of space when you want to ask God, ‘Why are we back here, and what are You trying to say, and what are You trying to do?'” Donadio said. “And I looked up at this arch that really was the whirrs and the bangs of an MRI machine. And what God said to me is ‘Remember Psalm 91, He who dwells in the secret place shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.’

“And so I felt like even in that space, I could say, ‘God, You’re my rock and my refuge and my fortress, and I trust You,” she said. “And I’m going to even look up at this machine and see it as You being Jehovah Nissi, Your banner over me, Your covering over me, and that You have purpose even in this.”

Donadio collected this and other God-focused stories in her most recent book, Astounded, and shares more of them in this episode of Greenelines. Be sure to listen, share and check out Donadio’s own podcast series, Make Life Matter, also on the Charisma Podcast Network. {eoa}