Tour

It was a tour that was set up by the development office of Texas Childrens Hospital for the Ambassadors group, a philanthropic support group that spans the entire mission of Texas Children'. The last tour was of the emergency room and a glimpse as to how it is managed, which was dynamic in itself, and this week the scheduled tour was of the operation and surgical facility. We first sat for lunch and heard a recap and sort of summary about the strides and advances that are being made, the policies that are in place, the advances and adjustments made by NASA that were used for pediatric practices and tools, the staff that is highly trained and educated, the child life support that is available, and the many hands of behind the scenes support that make this hospital work.

There were about fifty of us on tour all dressed in what they called bunny suits. They were worn over our clothes and were a white, one size fits all jumper that kind of felt like a flexible mesh plastic, that had a long zipper up the front. We were divided into several groups, given our green surgical hats and we were off. When a child goes in for a procedure of any degree, we often take for granted the details of the orchestrated procedure, the professionalism of the many hands that are gifted to be helping this child, and the backup support that is demanded for this institution to merit the reputation that it has.
We saw several operations that were being done but one particular, just sent my mind to awe mode. It was a brain operation. We peered through the observation window, and our group which only had about 8 people in it was invited in to stand at far away distance and actually witness an open brain where the skull had been temporarily set aside, that was being operated on. The child was an epilepsy patient and drugs were not able to combat the attacks, so surgery was required, to try to locate the sensory part of the brain that was causing it to seizure. It was the first time that I had ever actually seen the inside of anything in a body, and just the very sight of a live and operating brain, pulsing as it was just struck me of the many intricate details that God has created for a body to work.

I just get up in the morning and hop out of bed, get dressed and go about my day without thanking God for the opportunity to have my full scale working machine in tact. Seriously, just seeing what I saw in that operating room, branded upon my mind the awesome machinery that each of us operate each day, but oh so often take for granted.

Seems to be that if God can and does have the capacity to to put who knows how many pieces together in our body, connect them and then activate a heartbeat that maintains a continuous cycle of life generated activity, then I should be quite able to hand over that life right back to him to manage on the outside.

The way I figure it is, I can exercise and eat right and do the regular check up stuff (not too good at that) and maintain the body that I have from a human aspect but it is God who allows one thing or another to be compromised thus effecting our healthy bodies. We then have to learn to trust him in sickness just as we learn to trust him when things go askew in outside circumstances.

There are no answers as to why people get diseases and are handicapped or crippled or are burdened with overwhelming odds of recovery and we may never know how God will use that or use us to be his witness for others. As you read this, each of you can relate to someone you have loved and who has been called home to live with the Lord. Their bodies were weakened in battle and no longer had the strength to fight. Either the drugs were no longer efficient tools, or the Lord gently and lovingly said their time on his earth was finished and they had done the job he had purposed them to do and he was calling them to a peaceful place of eternal rest, the mansion that he has prepared.

This is not to be a morbid devotional but rather a reminder that our days are numbered. Our bodies are maintained and operated by the grace of God himself. We can and do play an active part but when all is said and done it is God who controls our outcome. It is God who has planned his purposes and it is us who has the opportunity to walk beside him according to his will and be the very best we can be while we are on this earth, or settle for the meager trappings of this world and stay luke warm in our living.

Our God, in his majesty and glory is the one who has created each and every one of us. He knows exactly how many hairs are on our head, and just what is going on inside the bodies that he has created, as well as what out outside circumstances may be.He generates life, and allows complications in all capacities to come before us, but in every step, in every situation, he remains steadfast in his faithfulness. He teaches us lessons of trust and faithfulness and dependence when sickness grips our very being or of someone we love and cherish.

I watched as children in that hospital, from the ages of infancy to 17, lay on an operating room bed and who were trusted into the hands of skilled surgeons. Many of those parents, I am sure, were distraught with worry and anxiousness, for they had relinquished control because they knew they was someone who had a better grip on helping their children to either overcome the diagnosis or they were able to ease a pain, or assisting with comfort and peace in the presence of the problem.. I have been one of those parents, when my daughter at age 16 was diagnosed with cancer. Oh but the overwhelming peace that God can and will give us if we only call on him and truly trust his intervention in our minds an in our ways.

When we are in the midst of health issues ourselves or if we are the support group that is helping to hold up the spirits of those we love, it is God who shares with us his strength, his mercy, his words and his peace. It is by his stripes that we are healed. Those stripes are the very things that Christ suffered himself and he knows the agony of pain. Oh but he also knows the blessed victory in his Father.

That same victory is ours for the taking. Christ not only died for our sins but he died so that we would have a first hand accessibility into the throne room of God. The place, the stroehouse where all the blessed offerings are ours to share. The things that are not tangible like peace, grace, strength and wisdom, comfort, love, forgiveness, and mercy. That victory comes in the trust and faithfulness that God has entrusted to us. He is in control, he is the maker and creator of all living things. He didn't just throw the pieces up in the air and wait to see how we would be packaged. He personally has chosen our parts, and has worked them all together to make us who we are.
He was the one who first breathed life into us and continues each day to keep our hearts activated for his purposes. Our lives are in his hands but too many times we forget to acknowledge that and try to go about life on our own without his input. Just as the surgeons are called in for procedures that they have been skillfully trained to handle, so are we to call God in for procedures that effect our decisions, our emotions, and our daily walk. He is the great physician to be trusted in all circumstances, and faithfully depended on for our wellness of spirit.

Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Dear Lord, What an awesome image you gave to me in that operating room. Help me to reflect on that and remember that it is you who knows full well how my body operates, as well as how the world about me operates. Help me to be conscious of your presence and call on you for help, strength and wisdom in all situations, inside and out. Amen

For those of you who are immersed in a health issue and are seeking a stronger word of God, The following is an article on healing and maybe it will give you a greater understanding and comfort. I have prayed for you not by name but in the spirit. May God bless you this day with a peace that helps you to cope and an understanding that helps you to faithfully trust Christ in spite of what you are going through. Amen http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2563411/posts

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!