For Harvey - Be Assured - Heaven is Real

 

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.  (Lamentations 3:22-25 ESV)

    

     We do not know what the day will bring, maybe joy, maybe sorrow.  But one assurance we have, it is God who upholds us by the power of His word. 

^“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17)

     Yesterday, a typical Monday by most accounts, yet I found myself in the Medical Procedures Unit in the Taubman Center at the University of Michigan Medical Center participating in my second colonoscopy, the first just three weeks ago.  I would like to say that I was doing it for the fun of it, but then you would know that I’m a liar.  Who would opt to go without food for 47 hours while drinking a 128 ounce brine concoction for the mere pleasure of it?  The Lord was with me through each eight-ounce glass, all sixteen of them.  I prayed then I swallowed with hopes that it would all turn out well in the end.  To my amazement, the prep was not all that bad three weeks ago, nor this time.

      About three weeks ago, my first colonoscopy revealed that my Crohn’s disease that I have been diagnosed with some twenty years ago has returned.  Some may say it actually never leaves you, it just goes into hiding.  I thought my ears deceived me when the doctor said that my disease was again present.  The only reason for this routine colonoscopy was to receive the good news that I could wait another ten years for the next.  I have been nearly sixteen years without Crohn’s symptoms and one knows the difference between normal and abnormal right?  Well in this case, no.  Thank goodness for routine tests.

      My doctor showed me imagines that verified her findings and asked that I return to her office in about a week to go over the treatment plan.  Some eighteen years ago, I was taking about sixteen pills a day (4 pills every four hours) that would not resolve the disease, but make life more normal.  Recalling that I would never be without this medication bothered me.  It is not that I find it difficult to swallow pills, but I do find it difficult to accept that anything is permanent.  I have no medical degree nor much interest in investigating alternatives, so why is it so difficult to follow an expert’s advice?  I can remember a sermon from a few weeks ago that quoted Jesus words,”It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” (Matthew 9:12 ESV).  If you are familiar with this passage, it is really indicating that those who do not know they are sick (without a Savior) will not seek a physician (God’s Son).  It is funny how the next week I discovered that I was not as healthy as I aspired to be.

      Even before my follow-up appointment, I received a second phone call from my physician who said she had received the biopsy results and that I would need to have a second colonoscopy right away.  My first thought, of course, another 128 ounces of prep until I heard her say, we found . . . What was that word she used?  Precancerous cells?  The thought of the second prep only consumed my thoughts for a moment, but the discovery of another problem caught my attention.    

       I don’t know whether you’ve received unexpected news like this, but if you have, you will believe me when I say that when you are in Christ we have assurance of wellbeing regardless of the outcome.  We do not have to experience ‘a-woe-is-me’ attitude.  I am more inclined to think, 'how do  I get my house in order?'  Especially where children are involved, our thoughts lock-in on the effect an illness will have on those you love.  I find peace in accepting God's plan.  It is highly likely that this circumstance may not be for me, but for someone beyond the boundaries of my own skin with whom I can share the light of Jesus.   

      I would be remise not to mention that this second colonoscopy corresponded nicely with Mother’s Day.  This year was much different for me.  I wasn’t looking for cards or gifts that expressed how my family felt about me.  I wasn’t upset when my husband called it just another Hallmark holiday.  Well maybe just a little.  I reminded him that we celebrate this day differently than others because we are looking at the position of motherhood that we see with a name and a face to acknowledge.  Where my heart was this year is on the ultimate role God has given me to speak life into our children.  The life that comes through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.  We can see our role as the keeper of the laundry, the doer of the dishes, and driver that takes our kids to activities away from home and gathering them again at the appointed time.  It is the weary way to view our role.

      Today as I was reading 1 Thessalonians 3, I could see myself in the apostle Paul.  Paul expressed deep affection toward those to whom he had revealed Jesus Christ.  He wrote letters and often looked for ways to travel to see them.  He laid his heart wide open in his commitment to the saints, and he was willing to bear much burden on their behalf.  This commitment is the same way we as mothers feel for our children.  Then Paul gets word from Timothy who was able to visit these believers and learned that they were remaining faithful.  What comfort came to Paul from those words!!  As a mom, I could think of no better message to hear about my children as they leave my side.  Many mothers have been troubled by their children walking away from the faith.  Then we read Paul’s prayer over these believers, “Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you.” (1 Thessalonians 3:11-12)  How many conversations have I had with my own children about the importance of getting along.  A mother’s dream -- her children will always love one another and their love will extend to others beyond their family.  How tragic that this is often not the case.  It is more common that families grow apart.  Paul and I share much in common.  He wanted to see them, be with them, but more than anything he wanted the Lord to do good work within their hearts so that they would be good to one another. 

         Even more significant that the first part of Paul’s message in verses 11 and 12, I was especially drawn to verse 13 which reads, “So that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:13)  To be established as blameless (holy) in God's sight is outside of a mother's reach.  Our blameless (holy) condition only comes from God our Father through His Son, Jesus Christ.  
     As we go about our daily routines, oblivious to the dangers that lurk around us, it is not the bad news that we should fear.  Sometimes the bad news is the catalyst to get us back on track and wake our souls up just a bit to the reason why there is a role called mother.  God created mothers to care for and nurture their children.  It is not that load of laundry, the sink load of dishes, or double-checking homework, but our role to teach our kids about the Lord Jesus Christ that matters.  We want assurance that at the moment of His second coming that those we love find security within His loving arms.

      God has allowed me to write these past several months.  It has helped to refocus my thinking on why I am here now.  He has given me a few medical challenges, but through His grace, I am thankful that He has allowed me to realign myself with his calling.  My calling took me to the 2^nd Floor, Medical Procedures Unit, at the Taubman Center of UofM  Medical Center.  This second colonoscopy was only a side road that God asked me to travel to get me to where He wanted me to be.  The peace that passes all understanding was with me when I met the nurse who administered my IV.  I was amazed that I didn’t feel the needle enter my skin as I spoke to my nurse, a black man probably in his mid-fifties who looked much younger than his experience revealed.  Five years in the military with medical opportunities, fifteen years as an Emergency Medical Technician (E.M.T.), and the past twenty-eight years as a nurse were the credentials he presented when I told him what a great job he was doing.  I didn’t feel a thing, as I didn’t need to.  God placed me under this nurses care for a reason.

      While under his care, two individuals from the university came to greet me with a release form, asking my permission to help them study Crohn’s disease.  A prior conversation had given me many details that allowed my husband and I to mutually decide to participate.  The nurse indicated how great it was that I was willing to help gather information that would help others with this disease.  But I told him what was even more important was the symbol that he wore around his neck, a cross.  He said, "I take it everywhere with me."  Here is the gospel conversation that God encouraged me to release as I awaited my procedure.  My nurse shared that he believed in the Father, however, we did not talk about the Son.  He said that he suffered much, and that he had been without a drink for over six years.  He told me of much family loss (death).  I spoke about a future reunion.  Then I heard him say that in his unit there was much talk of God and the hereafter; I can only imagine the truth of that statement at this university hospital.  Then he said, “Even if there is no heaven after I close my eyes for the last time, at least I had faith in something.”  I told him that everyone has faith in something, to live is to place our faith in something, a hardwiring of sorts.  When people believe that their end is near, it seems to be the time that they are willing to place their thoughts on things above more than on things below. 

       His response regarding the existence of heaven challenged me just a bit.  In this one area I have no doubt.  God has promised heaven to those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and confess with their mouths that He is Lord. I also have unshakable faith that God's Word is true with emphasis on, "I am the way the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."  (John 14:6 ESV)  Other parts of my faith, like will He answer this prayer (according to my desire) is not necessarily without doubt.  I believe that God answers all prayers.  Even Jesus' disciples needed to be reminded to increase their faith (and not doubt).  I know without a doubt that God has a purpose for our lives, that He has called us to be fruitful, and that apart from Him we are nothing.  He is our source of life, both now and for eternity.  A person might have faith in God, but do they have faith in His Holy Word?  Where do we find ourselves thinking or saying, even if there is no heaven . . .?

      Yesterday wasn’t about having another examination to determine the state of my innermost parts that God has woven together.  There is some planned obsolences when it comes to the end of this earthly existence, but there is no end to our heavenly existence when we believe in Jesus.  God had placed my body on the 2^nd Floor in the Medical Procedures Unit, at the Taubman Center of the University of Michigan Medical Center to meet my nurse Harvey.  Harvey, if you find my blog, I hope this passage I share with you encourages your faith, “Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you.” So that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.”  God has prepared a place for us.  I hope to see you there.