GOD’S GOT THIS, EVEN WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW HOW

BY TOHRU INOUE, SERVING IN EAST AFRICA

Medics, chaplains and SIM leaders gathered with others in Nairobi recently to discuss the many issues facing medical mission today.

They met for the week at a Catholic retreat centre and their schedule was packed with devotions, seminars and reports from around the globe.

Tea breaks became a welcome time to get some fresh air and collect one’s thoughts. Hot drinks and snacks were served in an open courtyard, in the middle of which was a statue of Jesus’s mother Mary. She carries her child in one arm and extends the other arm to help the world.

But I wonder how different Mary’s life must really have been. I picture a young woman, thrust into an adult world through pregnancy. Suddenly, she was responsible for a child. And not just any child, but God’s own son.

I see her desperately trying to hold it all together while every eye is watching. Every scrape on the boy’s knee is a mark against her parenting. It’s tough living with that scrutiny.

A medical professional’s work is also scrutinised. Judgments are often made on performance. Did the patient recover? How big is the scar left by the surgeon? How many attempts will it take to get this intravenous drip going? What words will the chaplain use? Health professionals would love to carry infants in one arm and still be able to hold out the other to help the world. That’s how we want our medical professionals to be.

But they can’t always be like that, as the Nairobi meetings reminded all the attendees.

The challenges of modern-day medical missions may seem insurmountable but, hey friend, you’re not here to save the world.

The world wants Mary both to hold the baby and help the world. But I know she must have depended on God’s strength. In reality, she did her best raising that boy with both her arms, while she left the rest to God. She witnessed what God did as her son – and his – grew. Little reminders of Jesus’s divine nature that she kept in her heart like treasures. Little treasures to remind her that she didn’t have to have it all together. God had this!

A man came to the SIM clinic in Doro, South Sudan, with significant back and leg pain. After carrying out an assessment, the physiotherapist thought it might be major compression on the nerve roots coming from his lower back.

Conveying this to the medical staff, she felt there were only basic things that could be done for him. She was also uncertain how effective they would be.

One of the staff members responded, “Yes, you may not know, but you’re also going to pray like you did with the last patient.”

He came back the following week with significant improvement. God was there.

I know many medics have witnessed similar treasures. Moments where the limits of their skill were met with a miracle. They hide these treasures deep in their hearts - little gifts to remind us he’s in our midst; that they don’t have to have it all together.

It’s OK, God’s got this.

PLEASE PRAY

 For SIM’s health ministry team to strengthen our medics

 For our medics to accept God’s will for their ministry and treatment of patients

 For medics to be able to share the good news of Jesus Christ with all their patients