Some of us ran out of hope a long time ago.
Maybe that's where you are right now, or you know someone who is. This one's for you. It will lift your heart.
First, some background. As Scott Lohman neared his goal, life was good. After years of seminary classes and an internship at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Downers Grove, IL, he was almost ready. In a few weeks he would be ordained as a Lutheran pastor.
Then came what looked like the end of everything.
But God had other plans.
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(Chris James, a pastor at Immanuel, told Scott's story for the February, 2012, edition of their church newsletter. He graciously gave permission to reprint his article, slightly edited.)
THE HAND OF GOD
On Monday, November 28, 2011, at 3:30 pm, Vicar Scott Lohman suffered an aortic dissection. Into the middle of this horrific tragedy, the Hand of God reached down to intervene.
Scott should have been in his garage by himself that afternoon, but his wife, Gina, called to report a harmless car accident, so he headed to Interstate-55 --that was the Hand of God.
Soon after he arrived at the accident scene, Scott passed out. An ambulance which police routinely summoned for accidents, waited, ready to take him to the hospital --that was the Hand of God.
The closest hospital was St. Joseph's in Joliet, nationally recognized for both stroke and heart care --that was the Hand of God.
Emergency Room physicians planned to wait until morning to follow up on Scott's tests. Then Gina's cousin, Andy, an off-duty St. Joseph's physician, stopped by. He said, "He's had a stroke; he needs help." --that was the Hand of God.
A dozen nurses, six doctors and multiple test results surrounded the patient. Only Nikita, an ICU nurse, noticed Scott had two different pulses in his wrists, which signaled a heart problem --that was the Hand of God.
The heart surgeon told waiting family and friends what happened alongside busy Route I-55 that afternoon. Scott suffered an aortic dissection, which caused his stroke, then traveled to both arms and legs, as well as his brain. Scott most likely would not survive the surgery. Yet five and a half hours later he emerged. He lived -- that was the Hand of God.
The surgeon warned he could only repair the valve to Scott's heart. Yet during the surgery, he was able to repair Scott's ascending aorta, too, and restore blood flow back to his brain -- that was the Hand of God.
Vascular damage to Scott's left arm was irreversible and he would lose it, said the surgeon. Yet the next day Scott had a pulse in his left wrist --that was the Hand of God.
No one promised Scott would wake up from his coma, and if he did, whether he would recognize anyone or ever move again. He did, he does, and oh, how he moves! --that was the hand of God.
Because Scott's kidneys were wrecked he requred daily dialysis. His only hope would be a kidney transplant. And then, his kidneys were healed -- that was the Hand of God.
Scott could not breathe without the ventilator. No one knew if he ever would. Now the vent is gone and he is back to his old, chatty self --that was the hand of God.
That dark November night Gina said good-bye to her husband. By the Hand of God she and the kids have received him back home, where they are all looking forward to a new chapter.
Praise the Lord all my soul; all my inmost being, praise His Holy Name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits--who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases. Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. --Psalm 103:1-5
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An upadate: On July 1 Scott Lohman will be ordained as an assistant pastor at Immanuel. With Immanuel's sponsorship, Scott will concentrate on planting and pastoring a new church in nearby Minooka, where the Lohmans have lived for several years.
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Every one of us can recall times we prayed with all our hearts and saw no evidence God heard us. No Scott Lohman outcome for us.
But God does hear us. Even when life makes no sense, we can trust His love for us because of Jesus (John 3:16.) We who believe can know that God's hand is on our lives just as surely as on Scott's. In every circumstance, He promises us strength for each day (Psalm 46:1.)
That makes it safe to give up fretting, even in hard times, and trust. Let God be God.
That's not fatalism. That's peace, the peace that passes all human understanding.
May you know that peace, my friends,
Lenore
