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Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.' " (vv. 6-9)

Genelle Guzman-McMillan was the last person to be rescued from the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. She had been trapped in the rubble for 26 hours when at last fire fighters heard her calling and pulled her out. Time magazine writer, John Cloud, wondered, "Why isn't Genelle Guzman-McMillan dead? Why did the last survivor survive?"

While 2,819 families grieved the loss of a loved one, Genelle's family got her back with a crushed right leg and a few other injuries -- but basically whole. Eight months later, she was walking without so much as a leg brace, an accomplishment that astonished a doctor who had told her she would walk with a brace for the rest of her life. Was this luck? Was it the hand of God?

Of the survivors, John Cloud wrote, "Having cheated death, they aren't certain how to live." How does one react when given a second chance at life?

Well, before the attacks on the World Trade Center, Genelle was living with her boyfriend, Roger, in Cypress Hills, a working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn. Life consisted of going to dance clubs in Manhattan with Roger and her friends. Genelle would be out until dawn some nights. Those nights wore her out. She usually slept most of Sunday so that she could look decent for work on Monday morning.

Twice before September 11, she and Roger -- raised Catholic and Anglican, respectively -- attended the Brooklyn Tabernacle. They were starting to question whether there was more to life than work and club hopping.

But while she was trapped for 26 hours in the rubble of the Trade Center, Genelle prayed fervently to God. She prayed for strength. She had visions of God and angels. She fell asleep. She woke again, prayed some more, and felt a sense of peace. After more praying, she opened her eyes and heard voices. She was being rescued, which she attributed to God answering her prayers.

Within hours she was with Roger, and she told him of her divine experience. To that point, she didn't know what life was about, but now she knew she was called to a different path. She told Roger that if they were to be together, they were going to change their lives. They couldn't live in sin and they would be going to the Brooklyn Tabernacle every week.

Much about their relationship was unresolved before September 11. Genelle reflects back and attributes it to not having Christ at the center of their lives. Too much partying to be serious about a relationship. But next to her hospital bed, Roger agreed to change as well and they began planning a wedding.

Genelle talks about her transformation after receiving a second chance in life. Her new faith has freed her from trivial concerns that used to preoccupy her. She said, "There are a million changes in me. I spend most of my time talking about the Bible, giving the glory to God. Before, I worried so much -- about money, about looking good. Now I'm walking around with a limp, and I have these scars. And I don't worry about that; it's not important."

She refused to sue as other survivors did. She stated, "I'm a Christian now. I don't think it's really anybody's fault."

Others have noticed her incredible sense of peace. Amsale Aberra, who designed Genelle's wedding gown commented, "My main impression of her is really just how calm she is. You would never guess what she had been through."

Her minister at Brooklyn Tabernacle, Pastor Jim Cymbala, summed it up well. He surmised, "We say that God has a special plan for all of us. But if there's anyone he has a plan for, it is this beautiful child of Christ."

God does have a plan for us, and it involves living within God's will. God will give us second chances -- multiple opportunities to repent of living in our will and enter into God's will. That's the point Jesus makes in the parable. We are given another season because God doesn't want to give up on us.

(John Cloud, "A Miracle's Cost," Time magazine, September 9, 2002)