A Healing Story
Luke 9:1-6
Anne was in the hospital with an unknown infection in her knees and hips that was so severe, she had not been able to get out of bed for nearly a year. At the young age of forty-two, she was not only facing severe infection and extensive surgery but also a mountain of personal problems including drug abuse, family squabbles and a stack of unpaid bills. Anne was in a lot of trouble.
Routine blood tests in preparation for surgery revealed an added horror for our forty-two-year-old sufferer. Anne was HIV positive and would likely develop full-blown symptoms of AIDS. I accompanied the doctor as she explained HIV/AIDS and the ramifications. Then the doctor left. For nearly an hour Anne alternately talked and cried. She had been horribly abused much of her life. The years of beatings, brutal sexual abuse and drugs took their toll. At one point, Anne was filled with rage: at her family who abused her, her so-called friends who used her and even God for seemingly abandoning her. Soon she would face excruciating surgery followed by a long, painful recovery only to then face the reality of HIV/AIDS.
What could I say? I listened, tried to understand, and cried with her. At some point, I felt led to ask: “Anne, would you like to receive Holy Communion?”
She looked at me for the longest time. Then with the slightest trace of a smile amid all those tears, Anne nodded and said: “Yes, please.” Later, that night, amidst the busyness and noise of a large metropolitan hospital a student chaplain and a deeply troubled woman, together discovered the words of comfort only God can give: “Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. Forgive us we pray. Free us for joyful obedience, through Jesus Christ our Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again. The body of Christ, given for you. The blood of Christ given for you. Amen.”
I don’t know why God physically heals some people and not others. Why do some endure more pain than any one person can possibly bear? Maybe we’re asking the wrong question. The right question might be: Where is God during our troubles? Can we anticipate a future beyond the suffering we experience now?
Several days later, following her knee and hip surgery, I was summoned to Anne’s room. She grasped my hand, looked at me and said: “I sensed the presence of God in the room that night during communion and for the first time in my life I felt truly loved. Thank you! I have a surprise for you!” She got out of the hospital bed and stood up. Anne then asked me to escort her on the first walk she had taken in over a year. Together we walked the length of the hospital corridor and back. This time it was my turn to cry.
Prayer Challenge: Lord, help me better appreciate your awesome gift of grace.