Last week, I had the opportunity to go to the Nasher Sculpture Garden with my mom and my children. I’ll let that sink in for a minute: I went to an art museum. Willingly. And dare I say I even enjoyed it? And this time I managed NOT to ask questions like “These are all originals, right?”
Now that you’ve had a moment to compose yourself we can return to the subject at hand. While I enjoyed nearly all of the sculptures there, and we had lots of fun taking pictures of us interacting with several pieces, one in particular caught my attention…and held it.
It was simply called “Vertebrae”, and for those of you who know me and know my story, you can appreciate why this was significant to me. As I sat there next to this sculpture, with my children gazing into the reflecting pool, I had an emotional moment…a moment where I was overwhelmed with gratitude for God’s healing. For God’s protection. For God’s miraculous touch. I was reminded again of how different things could have been…but how God in His sovereignty chose this path of wholeness for my life. How God put it into a nurse’s head to draw – and carve – a heart out of my body cast, creating a touchstone of God’s love and care. And how God used that accident to bring a wonderful and godly man into my life who would eventually become my husband.
But I’m not the only one in my family who has received miraculous healing from Jehovah Rapha. It wasn’t too long ago that we were dealing with this:
And though God gave Matt the strength to handle his diagnosis and treatment with humor, dealing with cancer was still stressful. There were hard and difficult days. There was financial strain. There was uncertainty and fear. But as we approach the one-year anniversary of Matt’s final chemo treatment, and shortly thereafter his first anniversary as a survivor, I have been reminded to be grateful for the gift of each new day. For the gift of my husband and his continued presence in my life. For being able to kiss him good night before we go to bed, and each morning before he heads off to work. For sharing meals, and going shopping, and attending school functions, and living life together.
The Great Physician has been at work our our precious daughter’s life, too, from her very earliest days:
At the ripe old age of 2 weeks, Crisana was diagnosed with a condition called “hydromyelia”, a cyst in her spinal cord. After weeks of x-rays, MRI’s, CT’s and other not-so-fun medical testing, not to mention the risk and uncertainty of her condition and the recommended treatments, she underwent surgery when she was only 4 months old. With the help of the Great Physician, she experienced a nearly miraculous recovery less than 2 days later.
And even all these years later, we still have all the personality, all the activity, all the joy that is Crisana.
Standing. Running. Walking. Dancing and leaping and twirling. Jumping and swinging and sliding. Kicking soccer balls and swimming underwater and roller skating. Enjoying the life of a normal, active 7-year-old. Each year as we return for her annual follow-up scan, I’m reminded how grateful I am for God’s protection over her. For the way He has preserved her and kept her from harm. For the way He has restored her to full health.
I’m grateful for those old canvas stretchers, and the lessons we’ve learned about God through those experiences. But believe me, I’m equally grateful that we don’t need them any more.