Heart Surgery

"I will give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the stony heart from their bodies, and replace it with a natural heart" - Ezekiel 11:19


Have you ever had heart burn? Has your heart ever skipped a beat? Has it ached?

When I was a baby, I needed heart surgery. I was born with Patent ductus arteriosus. Essentially, a hole in part of my heart wasn't closed by the time I shot out of the womb. They didn't know at first and for the first few moments of my life, I didn't gain weight...things just did not look good. I was a "miracle baby" too, on top of all of this. (My mother wasn't supposed to be able to have children....and if you think about it, God uses the women in Scripture who are called barren to bring about great things - Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Elizabeth, etc - and show his might and power and Almighty-ness. Fun fact.) So for there to be a hole in my heart and my life on the line, life wasn't looking too great. My parents had to watch me in pain, crying and all-around uncomfortable. I had the surgery and within weeks I plumped right up and was a happy and healthy baby. I got super fat. It was great. The doctor told my parents to "invite him to the wedding"...letting them know that I was going to be fine. 

The other day I was thinking about my heart surgery (in the loo of course) and while I couldn't remember the pain or the surgery or even the recovery because I was so young, I know the story well. I got to thinking about all the times our hearts hurt - whether it's a physical, emotional or spiritual hurt. I've had a handful of heart-hurts, as I'm sure you have too. In some way at some time, we've all been hurt and needed surgery. 

Doctors operated on my tiny heart when I was small and through the pain of surgery (including a wicked scar on my rib cage) and recovery, my heart was able to grow as it should have always grown and beat the way it was meant to beat. When the Lord wants to do heart surgery on us, it's going to hurt, but through the pain comes healing and He makes our hearts that may have been stony or holey to beat like new. God has always intended for us to have hearts that are hole, that know his love and can be who He wants us to be.

My heart is fine now, but I can get a little worrisome at times thinking that maybe it's not all better and I doubt the doctors at Texas Children Hospital. This is dumb and only because I'm human and need to work on trust. When we go through healing by the Divine Healer, we have to trust who he is and not who we only may see ourselves to be. While I can think that maybe my heart isn't 100% at times (and have a minor hypochondriac moment) I focus on the pain that was and not know the healing that is real. When we are being touched by our God who is bigger than any hurt or pain or wound, we need to focus on Him who is operating and not on the pain as our identity. We are HIS child, HIS patient, HIS creation. Trust HIS words and HIS love. It's the ultimate treatment and cure. 


Today, no matter where you are or what is going on in your life or your heart. God who loved you into creation and was there in all of the pain, standing with you and hanging and dying for you on the cross, wants to make your heart whole and like his Sacred Heart. Take a step right now and place your heart into His to "receive mercy and to find grace for timely help." (Hebrews 4:16) He wants to give you a natural heart.