Life In Christ

This morning, I was reading Beth Moore's "John/90 Days With the Beloved Disciple". As I read, the following sentence jumped off the page and stirred my Spirit: "Is there anything you've given up for dead in your life, assuming it was beyond Christ's power to reverse or transform?" I stopped and stared into the lights of our Christmas tree as I pondered this question. I began to realize the power of Jesus and how nothing is dead with him. He is life. I could sense the light of His life welling up inside of me and pouring from my chest. Life!! There is true life, eternal life in Christ!!

I began thinking about the examples of this in my life and I was reminded of a journey I took a few years back. Having a love for the medical field, I had become a student in the Radiology Technologist (Rad Tech) program at IVY Tech. I had hands on opportunities with patients as I learned to X-Ray chests, arms, legs, etc. While I was fairly good at the technical part of the job I found myself drawn to the patients themselves. I wanted to hear their stories. I wanted to comfort them. I wanted to pray with them. One patient in particular was a woman who had been brought into the ER with chest pains. She was super obese and needed a special bed to hold her. She was so frightened. As I assisted my supervisor with a portable chest X-Ray on her, I was captured by the fear in her eyes. As we began to leave the room, she begged us to pray for her. I wanted to drop everything, run to her bedside, hold her hands and pray. I wanted to sit with her. But, my supervisor said over her shoulder, "We will." and told me to come with her. I wasn't allowed to pray with her. I wanted to be there for these patients if only to quietly pray for them and befriend them on part of their medical journey. Unfortunately, a bad back, arthritic feet and problems with balance stopped me cold. I couldn't continue with my education. I was done. I saw this as the end of my working life. I considered myself retired and that I would stay at home and putter.

This caused me great restlessness. I was dying but I knew there was life in me somewhere. Then (the following is a very condensed version of what happened but to lay it all out would take way too long)a member of the church we had been attending but had left, passed away. We went to his funeral; there we were reunited with members of that church and decided to return; that very Sunday, I signed up to train for Stephen Ministry (it was the last day and I had wanted to for some time); there I met a lady who was a hospital chaplain; we got to be friends; I learned through her about Clinical Pastoral Education where you serve for 4 months as an intern chaplain at a hospital; I did it; I loved it; I found my call!!!!! I am now in seminary and pursuing Masters of Divinity for ordination to serve as a chaplain. God brought life into what I thought was dead. Greater life than before!!!!

Amy Grant has a song that is one that if I could have written a song to God this would be it. "Lover of My Soul" is a song that opens my heart and soul as I listen to and sing the words in prayer to God. One line from this song that came to me this morning was,

"When I see the winter turning into spring,
Oh it speaks to this heart of mine,
more than anything.
Underneath the blanket of snow
cold and white.
Somethin' is stirrin' in the still of the night."

Don't miss the life that Christ brings to you every day. It's real. It's eternal. There is no death in Him.