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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Inscrutably good

My wise friend Karen Masso had this example of the difference in
Jonah's and Kevin's experiences with death: once the crowd threatened
Jesus at the cliff, and he walked through unharmed. The second time
the crowd gained deadly momentum, they pushed him to the cross. Kevin
has walked through this experience of death like Jesus parting the
crowd and leaving the cliff. Today he's out of the ICU again post-op,
eating and walking again, and once again showing the most amazing
recovery speed. God has been given glory for the miracle of his
resurrection, the timing, the people, the third-try shock, the
protocols at Duke, the surgery, everything. When the surgeons saw his
valve, they confirmed that he had very severe stenosis. In most
scenarios he would not have survived, but now they are thinking about
which day to discharge him home. Jonah, on the other hand, followed
the path of the cross. I can not explain why God worked so
differently for those two men who had dedicated so much of their lives
to the Kingdom in Bundibugyo, who had wives and young children in the
balance, and who had been our friends. But Karen's analogy of Jesus'
life shows that God's ways can not always be predicted or boxed in or
explained, that the same crisis may have different outcomes that both
turn out to be based on love.

For tonight, resting in the rescue God provided Kevin and JD, and
rejoicing that he has a new valve and a new hope for life and
relationship and work and meaning.

2 comments:

Amy Pasqualini said...

Thanks for sharing this...what a wise reminder of God's love and sovreignty when we hear about so much heartache and not near enough triumph. I'm so glad to hear about Kevin's recovery and I'll keep praying that it continues and that God is glorified by it! Thanks for the updates and for all of your posts! God bless!

Anonymous said...

Wow...thought provoking. Prayerfully thankful to hear the report of Kevin.