Lesson #1 From the Mayo Clinic
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of accompanying a friend to the Mayo Clinic. When I first got there I was amazed and appalled. When we pulled up to one of the hospitals in the sprawling complex, there were 60-75 people in wheelchairs waiting for transport. Everywhere we went there were sick people — people shuffling in despair, crying in agony, or waiting in line with anticipation. They even give waiting patients pagers and some departments flash the patient’s name on a marquis when it’s their turn for services. After the initial amazement, I thought, “Get me out of here! I just want to go where there are ‘normal’ people — people who don’t look sick.”
I could not help but think of the many times in my life when I have been struggling with addiction, depression, or broken relationships, and I have had similar thoughts, “Get me out of here! I just want to go where I look ‘normal’ — where I don’t look sick.”
After spending a few days among the sick and their caregivers, I lay in bed feeling the pain of living in a world where our bodies get broken, our relationships are broken, and our hearts break into a million little pieces. And then God’s Spirit broke through — and I remembered the Gospel.
Addicted, sick, depressed, alone — it doesn’t matter. God’s mercies know no end. He lives amongst the sick, the needy, the crippled. He must — because He lives in me. My wheelchair looks different, but I am still waiting for a miracle. A different kind of healing.
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:17
Filed in Addiction,God's Mercy,Healing,Relationship with Jesus One Response so far
One Response to “Lesson #1 From the Mayo Clinic”
Annie Biers on 10 Sep 2008 at 12:44 pm #
Oh, Sharon – I am So glad to see this new website up and running. It’s beautiful, but not as beautiful as your words and testimonies that so minister to hurting hearts. I will be visiting often. I pray you are well and feeling armed with the righteousness of God so that you may continue speaking truth into a broken world.