My previous article, Hearing the Voice of Jesus, pictured
God as the One who continually pursues us, seeking relationship with us. His voice calls to us out of His great love
expressed through Jesus Christ and His inspired Word. Perhaps surprisingly, we can best discern
God’s voice and receive the outpouring of His love through the Holy Spirit when
we are in the midst of trials and suffering. Those who have experienced God’s love and
comfort in their suffering are able to comfort others in trials with this same
comfort (2 Corinthians 1: 3-4). Little did I know while writing this previous article
in September that God was preparing me to learn the truth of it through my own
traumatic experience on October 8. What
follows is my account of this experience. Remember that my perspective from “here on the
ground” is flawed and limited compared
to God’s perspective. May He alone be
glorified as you read.
Thursday, October 5
Today, Abby and I were scheduled to be chaperones for our granddaughter, Della
Rose, and her classmates during their visit to nearby Ramseyer Pumpkin Farm.
However, the rainy weather caused rescheduling of the event; and
produced a disappointed granddaughter and grandma. To brighten our morning, I suggested to Abby that
we go out for breakfast at Bob Evans. As
we walked toward the register to pay our bill, I noticed a familiar face in a
nearby booth and remember thinking that I had seen this gentleman at our
church. I made a mental note and thought
no more of this passing encounter. In
the afternoon, we drove to Akron to attend the cross country meet of our older
granddaughter, Kiara. Afterwards, we celebrated
her personal best time with her and her family. While in Akron, we stopped to visit my friend,
Bill, who had just had right hip replacement surgery that afternoon. He was still in recovery so we left a card for
him and drove home to Wooster.
Saturday, October 7
I began this crisp, autumn morning with an encouraging time of fellowship over
a warm breakfast with my Christian brother, Brad. Then, while Abby was running her errands, I returned
to Akron to visit my friend, Bill, now in his third day of recovery from hip
surgery. He was in good spirits and was managing
his pain very well. After our brief
conversation, I prayed with Bill and his wife, and then left the hospital. As I was leaving, I sensed that God’s Spirit
was pressing me to take account of the thoughts and intentions of my heart for
visiting Bill. This was not the first
time that I was humbled about my efforts to encourage a friend in the midst of
pain and suffering. Taking a personal
stock in this area usually centers around three basic questions, each probing
successively deeper into my faith and its outworking in my life.
The primary question that pressed upon my mind as I walked from Bill’s room was,
How real is your empathy and compassion
toward Bill? I had to acknowledge
immediately that my level of empathy was limited by the degree to which I had been
“walking in Bill’s shoes.” After all,
how could I actually see life through the eyes and body of a man who had
experienced years of pain while walking with an arthritic hip and then endured the
pain of a hip replacement? Because of my
limited empathy, my compassion, or
the depth of my desire to help my friend was also limited to visiting him and
attempting to encourage him. Having not
been involved in farming since my boyhood, I was limited in my ability to assist
those people who had volunteered to harvest Bill’s crops and care for his
livestock.
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How can we empathize with and extend compassion
to loved ones without having "walked in their shoes?" |
What concerned me most as I reflected on my efforts in recent years to
empathize and encourage friends and family members was the fact that the
blessing of good health throughout my life had spared me of physical pain and
suffering. I simply could not identify
with friends and family in times of their suffering. Instead, I tried to encourage them with words
like, “God is good and faithful. He will
bring you through this because He loves you and you can trust Him.” I would also thank them for showing me how to
endure pain and suffering as an example for me when I face a similar trial in
the future.
My second question also stems from my good health and lack of experience with
pain and suffering. The voice inside
asked me, John, how genuine is your
faith? Sure, I had much experience
pointing suffering family members and friends to God as a source of hope and
healing. But, how did I know how strong my
faith would be when my time came to face pain and suffering? My answer has to be, “I do not know if my
faith in God will remain strong.”
Finally, the third question that has pressed upon my mind over the years is the
most challenging of all—How do you know
that God will be faithful when you need Him most? Surely, I have known God’s presence and
comfort during times of decision, loss, loneliness, conflict in relationships,
and emotional stress. But, would I know
assuredly that God had not forsaken me when I encountered my own suffering and
pain? Little did I know that God was
already orchestrating a situation that would eventually provide me with answers
to all three of my questions.
Sunday, October 8
Abby and I were blessed to attend our 8:30 am Sunday School class at West
Hill Baptist Church, taught by Pastor Eric Fairhurst. Our lesson was from Luke 21 which records the
words of Jesus as He described the signs and future events that would occur in
and around Jerusalem and beyond. We were
challenged to be alert “when these things begin to take place.” Then, in our traditional worship service,
Pastor Dan Wingate presented a message from Colossians 3: 12-17 entitled, “Putting on the Best Clothing.” Verse 12 introduces a list of important
Christian virtues and character traits for Christ-followers to “put on” as we
yield to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives: So, as those who have been chosen of God,
holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion…etc.
That morning, I did not immediately connect a biblical text beginning with the
subject of compassion to my own question about the genuineness of my
compassion following my hospital visit yesterday. However, I was soon to be on the receiving
end of compassion in an unexpected way.
After the service, we greeted some friends, then walked together into the
church parking lot. As I scanned the lot to locate our Tacoma, I spotted the
same gentleman that I had recognized in Bob Evans on Thursday. I raised my hand to wave him to a stop. We greeted one another and exchanged names
while remembering that we had just crossed paths in Bob Evans three days
earlier. Our conversation was then
interrupted by a forceful blow on my left side which was the first of several
painful impacts I felt, resulting in my body being either thrown to the ground;
or, more likely, twisted so that my right hip was thrown against the side of my
friends car before I landed on my left side on the ground.
Needless to say, my viewpoint immediately changed. While lying helpless in a fetal position,
unable to move, I could only look up.
Whereas, moments before I had viewed my church family from my usual
position of height and strength, I was now forced to look up at them in helpless
dependence. My view was filled with the
concerned faces of my church family gathering to help and console me. The dear lady whose car had struck me was soon
at my shoulder with profuse apologies.
Another person cradled my head, while yet another asked if I could
move. I remained conscious but could not
move my right leg. While someone dialed
911, another man began to lead in a prayer for God’s provision. As I looked up at a sea of loving faces, a
friend brought a green blanket to support my head, and others had gathered
around Abby to pray.
Within minutes, the ambulance arrived and I was gently wrapped and transported
to the ER of Wooster Community Hospital.
Soon Abby arrived, accompanied by two brothers and two sisters in Christ
from our church. Again, I felt God’s
comfort and guidance through the presence of Abby and these dear friends. They were also very helpful in our choice of a
surgeon.
That afternoon, my X-rays indicated that my hip was shattered and that I would
need a total right hip replacement. The
operation was performed by the skillful hands of a surgeon who was also a man
of faith. I was so richly encouraged when he took my hand and prayed with me at
the end of our pre-op consultation.
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Looking confident, but supported by prayers
and resting in the unseen arms of God. |
During the night and the next couple of days, I was made comfortable by medical
staff who each served me with professionalism and compassion. During this time, I sensed as never before
the nearness of God—so comforted and strengthened by the faithful prayers of
family, church family, and friends. I
believe God used these days of discomfort and dependence, and days of being
weak while learning to become stronger, in order to provide the very experience
I so greatly needed and wanted--experience I had missed as the one usually
standing above others who experienced pain and dependence.
The doctor, nurses, and aides kept track of my pain level and encouraged me not
to shirk on taking Oxycodone so that I would not “get behind” in managing the
pain. Because pain has been such an
infrequent visitor in my life, I did not want to insulate myself too much from
it. Thankfully, an occasional Tylenol
was enough to moderate my pain. Though I
felt weak and physically dependent, I remembered the words of Gordon T. Smith that
had so interested me just a few weeks before. Smith notes that it is when we accept and even
embrace the experience of pain and suffering that we are most receptive to the
outpouring of God’s wondrous, boundless love.
Though I am unworthy to compare my light brush with suffering to that of
the Apostle Paul, I learned a new appreciation of his writing in Romans 5: 3-5
NASB (emphasis mine):
And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that
tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and
proven character, hope; and hope does
not disappoint, because the love of God
has been poured out within our hearts [ESV: “poured into our hearts”] through
the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Reflections during Recovery:
Although I could have gone home on Tuesday, Abby and I agreed that I should
spend a few days in the Transitional Care Unit to undergo some physical therapy
and increase my readiness for life back home.
During these days of recovery, I revisited the three questions that had
challenged me in years past and which had especially pressed upon me only days
before my injury. As I reflect on my own
suffering and recovery, am beginning to understand more clearly the nature of
sincere compassion, the genuineness of my own faith in God, and the
faithfulness of Jesus, my Savior.
While lying on my back in absolute dependence upon medical staff and then
during my transitional care, God was making me a more humble, open vessel to
receive His loving compassion through the care of these dear servants. I am now praying that the Father of mercies and God of all comfort Who comforts us in our
affliction will make me into a better steward
of His comfort and compassion so that I will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the
comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God (2 Corinthians 1: 3-4). In
short, it’s ultimately not about my compassion but my openness as a channel of
God’s compassion.
Second, having never experienced serious pain and suffering, I used to wonder
how my own faith in God would fare in the day it finally came. My wondering ended on October 8. Thanks to God’s grace as manifested in the
many ways I have recounted above, my faith did not waver. I do not make this claim because I felt the
strong “flexing of the muscles” of my faith in my time of need. Instead, my faltering faith was lifted up by
the strong arms of God—loving arms that protected me bodily when I was struck
on my left side, wrestled about, and dropped on my left side without a
bruise—loving arms that worked though all the actions of my church family, and
then the compassionate, medical care-givers.
Again, it’s ultimately not about “my faith” but God’s imparting of the gift
of faith to me (Ephesians 2: 8).
Finally, I had no reason to question the faithfulness of my Savior, Jesus
Christ. Like the comforting,
compassionate care that I remember receiving one morning from an aide who
covered me with a freshly warmed blanket, so the loving arms and gentle voice
of the Savior left me no doubt about His faithfulness and abiding presence. Much more than feeling warm fuzziness, God’s manifest
presence was made real as His Spirit spoke to me in words from Scripture—words
that He brought freely into my consciousness from memory, such as Isaiah 41:
10:
Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Or, the words of Psalm 23 that I had
read many times in the past, and heard in utterances from the quivering lips of
family and friends as I stood at their bedside:
The LORD is my shepherd; I
shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Has my compassion become more sincere?
Is my faith stronger as a result of this trial? Is my Savior faithful? I thank God for helping me answer the first
two questions by His resounding answer “Yes” to the third.
In conclusion, I thank God for granting my injury and for demonstrating His
faithfulness through it in the days that followed. Through God’s gift of my injury, pain, and
suffering, I am learning anew the blessing of His comfort and compassion—gifts from
His vast sea of love and grace. Now, I
am recommitting myself to being a good steward of God’s gifts of love, compassion,
and faith. I pray that the aroma of
Christ will be evident in my relationships with others—so that ultimately
Christ is lifted up. To God be the
glory!
