Thank God for a Cardiac Arrest

THANK GOD FOR A CARDIAC ARREST

"In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Well I suspect the title of today's Freedom Fighter caught your attention! I never thought I would be thanking God for a cardiac arrest.

On Tuesday afternoon, our granddaughter Lindsay, had a cardiac arrest at Boston Children's Hospital. Quite honestly, I was a little upset that after all she had been through with the open heart surgery, she had to face this. But it ended up being a blessing in disguise.

A question in the back of all of our minds is did we make the right decision to have the open heart surgery to begin with. After all, she went in talking, walking, smiling, and now is in a CICU awaiting a heart transplant. My son-in-law had asked the question months back, "What if she DOESN'T have the surgery." The surgeon explained that eventually she would need a heart and lung transplant. But would she have five, ten, fifteen years of good life before that?

On Friday that question was answered. A heart cath showed not only the severity of the damage to the left side of her heart, but that the main coronary artery to the left side is not even there - not blocked, not cut - not there - period. The right side of her heart was really doing all the work.

As I am piecing the story together, theoretically, Lindsay Bear could have survived the surgery without them knowing this information, and down the road at any moment, away from the hospital, had a cardiac arrest and die. Wow!

While the outcomes haven't changed - in that she needs to now have a heart transplant, we are thankful that in God's sovereign plan, He allowed a this precious little girl to have a cardiac arrest so that the doctors could discover the big picture. Even in the midst of the difficulties we face, God is working out a bigger picture. That is why Paul says, "IN EVERYTHING ... give thanks!" 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

Have you thanked Him today for the difficulties you are facing? Guess what ... it is God's will for you to do that! Think about it! - Bill Welte is the President and CEO of America's KESWICK.

For more information about Lindsay, visit the Keswick website and visit her blog: www.americaskeswick.org.

God's WORD for you: 2 Samuel 9-11; Luke 15:11-32

Think About This: If I cast up a confessed, repented, and forsaken sin against another, and allow my remembrance of that sin to colour my thinking and feed my suspicions, then I know nothing of Calvary love.
Amy Carmichael