Isaiah 53: 5- “But He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds (stripes) we are healed”
I Peter 2:24-“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed”
I have been told by some that, “by His stripes or wounds you have been healed”, means that No Christian should ever be sick. If a Christian does get sick it means that they must be hiding some kind of unconfessed sin! When Bethany was first diagnosed with brain cancer it was “going around” that perhaps one or both of her parents were harboring some kind of secret sin. How’s that for brotherly and sisterly Christian support in a time of overwhelming crisis?! Actually the Greek word “IAOMAI” and the Hebrew word “Rapha” being used for “healed” in the two verses above can mean either a physical or spiritual healing. In the context of these two verses it makes more sense that the healing being discussed is a spiritual one. I believe that the healing in these verses means being forgiven and saved, not that all Christians should never experience illness.
As time went on and Bethany experienced new life threatening complications every other day and was ultimately left with permanent disabilities it has been hinted at that perhaps I was preventing her from being healed because I didn’t have enough faith. To that I say this, ”It takes a hell of a lot more faith to live without your precious child being healed than it does to have your prayers answered the way you want them too be answered. It takes an enormous amount of faith to not get the healing that you so desperately want for your child and that you have been pleading with and begging God for ceaselessly! It takes an infinite amount of faith to listen to your daughter pleading for the seizures to go away and asking you why Jesus doesn’t make them go away year after year after year!!
Now that a medication seems to be controlling Bethany’s seizures some people may believe that she is healed and perhaps she is. Perhaps God has finally answered our prayers and healed her. Only time and her next MRI will prove that one way or the other. Should we expect that Bethany will be “normal” now and that we can let our guard down and begin treating her as if she were not disabled? Certainly now that she isn’t confined to the couch having nearly constant seizures we can and should ”seize” this awesome opportunity to begin teaching her more self help skills so that she can become as independent as possible
However, seizure medication alone is not a cure for epilepsy or the massive brain damage that she suffered which is what has been causing her seizures. Seizure medications merely suppress seizures from firing. Bethany is still displaying all the same autistic characteristics that she always has. She is still functioning at a two/ three year old level. Her 110 pound fourteen year old body still has two year old temper tantrums. She still wouldn’t care if, in a rage she hurt someone- even a baby! She still has no concept of danger. She still has no idea that walking into the path of a speeding car would hurt her, let alone kill her! We still must keep our sharp knives locked up because she is fascinated and obsessed with them and might stab herself or others in a rage or if she does have another seizure. We can teach her how to use the stove and oven, but we can never allow her to cook or bake unattended because she doesn’t understand that the hot stove or oven can burn her and if she did have a seizure while cooking she could fall right on top of a hot burner. We still can’t let her take a shower or bath unattended because there will always be the possibility that she could have another seizure and fall or drown. We still can’t leave her home alone like we would a typical fourteen year old and go out on a carefree date! So…..even though Bethany has not had a seizure in four months…life has really not changed all that much! We are still watching and waiting for the next seizure to happen. We are still watching and waiting for the next catastrophe to happen. We can’t let it go…. We can’t relax and let down our guard.
Monday Meet Up
Monday’s Musings #45
