Thursday, February 3, 2016
VIDEO
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are
plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11(NLT)
I meet with a group of ministers a couple of times each month. As we share our lives and ministry we laugh
together, sometimes cry together, worship and break bread together. It’s a confidential group, so all of what we
share together remains there. With that said,
I have permission to share this part of my fellow-minister’s journey at the
hospital two weeks ago.
Bob had what was supposed to be a “routine” heart
catheterization. (I’m not sure you can
ever attach the word “routine” to any invasion of the primary muscle of life).
The procedure went well, as Bob’s doctor inserted a stent to
help arterial blood flow. As the medical
team was preparing to wind things up, a sudden flushed feeling rushed through Bob’s
body, and triggered a flurry of activity as doctors and nurses began to deal
with unexpected internal bleeding.
An hour and a half procedure turned into 4 hours and 3 more
stents. For the patient, my friend, Rev.
Bob, thoughts immediately turned to mortality, OK, God, is this it? Will I not go to my house…are we going to
yours? Is this it, or do you still have
work for me to do here? Stuff
like this gets your attention!
In the end all is well, and Bob recovered enough to cook
breakfast last week for the five of us and share this encounter in our group. God is indeed good! (So was breakfast!)
It was the aftermath and discussion with Bob’s doctor that
got my attention.
When the cardiologist was discussing release from the
hospital with my friend, Bob asked him this question: What should I do to never see your face
again, doc? He explained, I
like you and appreciate what you did for me, but what changes do I need to make
so my health will improve?
The doctor shared some standard diet, exercise and lifestyle
information, and then looked the Reverend square in the face and said, Bob,
if you’re asking me how long you will live, I can’t tell you. I can tell you you’re probably going to die
of heart-related issues, because of your family history and the fact that it’s
in your DNA.
Then he said, I can tell you I’m probably going to die of
heart issues, and also cancer.
It seems the doctor, healer, helper, physician to the sick
and helpless has leukemia.
The obvious elephant-in-the-room question at this point
is: Why has he not folded his practice
and taken time off to relax and spend “quality” time before his time is
over? Well, the cardiologist didn’t
explain that, but it’s obvious that he has looked beyond his trouble and
understood (as some don’t) that, involved as he is with contributing to the quality
of others’ lives, he is already hip-deep in living a quality life.
I don’t know this physician, but I like his thinking.
God says he has plans – good plans for us – and a
future. What kind of future is talk of
terminal heart disease or leukemia?
The short answer is, any future – five minutes or five decades –
is always in God’s hands, and is always purposeful and meaningful when you
trust His guidance and care.
For You Today
You have
little knowledge (beyond some guesswork and hints from the way your bones
creaked when you got out of bed this morning) whether you are one who is in the
5-decade or 5-minute column.
The real
question is, what are you going to do with whatever God gives you?
No comments:
Post a Comment