encountering the holy: part I

This is probably the hardest post to write since most of the time I was fearful or waking up from surgery.

Let me start with the hour leading up to the operating room:

Pastor Robyn came to pray with us in the waiting room. When I was called back, I walked alone through the swinging doors not knowing what to expect. As a pastor, I have been in the staging area to pray with and anoint members of my congregation. I now know what it is like to be the one to have to walk through those doors and get a bed prior to surgery.

While the room was bright from the fluorescents, or probably LEDs now, it felt like a cave. The nurses, while upbeat, couldn't push back the sterile, stagnant, and suffocating aura of the room. They did their best to calm me, but my heart raced none-the-less. I only remember one of their names, Leslie. She has been a nurse for 46 years, 45 of them at Research. She was seasoned, cold, but steady as a rock. Her presence radiated assurance. It's nice to have a jovial nurse, but she was calming. I appreciated her more than any of them.

The anesthesiologist came in and explained to me all the different things he was going to pump into my body. He was nice and efficient in his explanations. I sensed his confidence and trusted him immediately.

While they were prepping me and moving me around, I asked one of the nurses to hand me my phone. In my head, like a broken record, a passage was on repeat. All things new, all things new. I've come to respond to these nudgings because for me they are clear messages from God.

I pulled up Revelation 21: 3-5 and shared it with those working on me in the room:

I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “Look! God’s dwelling is here with humankind. He will dwell with them, and they will be his peoples. God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more. There will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look! I’m making all things new.” He also said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

I knew without a doubt, God was with me at that moment. As a Protestant, and particularly as a Methodist, I know that through Jesus, the kingdom of God is being realized every moment. I sensed the veil between heaven and earth become thin, and I knew that God was with me. I knew all things would be okay, no matter what happened in that operating room. 

It's not often we experience the beauty of our Almighty God and it causes me to gasp when I think of the moments when I sensed the presence of my Savior.