Only Human

Some people just aren’t supposed to get sick.

I’m not talking about a single mom raising three kids and working full time. Sure - the world seems to stop when she gets the flu, but that’s just a part of life in the winter. It’s going to happen.

I’m thinking now about superheroes like dads and surgeons getting the kind of sick that robs them of their superhero status and makes them simply human.

Like when your dad is diagnosed with cancer.

The man who held you as a newborn and whispered, “I’m your daddy.” Who called you his little princess and solved all your problems. Who made you cinnamon toast when you had a tummy ache and sat up in bed with you all night when you had ear infections. Who listened through every broken heart. Who was always going to be there…

It turns your world upside down when you suddenly realize that your dad is way too mortal…

Perhaps that’s what God intends through these upside-down-world moments. Perhaps He simply wants our hero worship and adoring gaze to swing in a different direction.

Yesterday I got a call from my surgeon’s secretary. I have one last surgery scheduled for the beginning of January and she was calling to reschedule it because my surgeon had ‘cardiac issues’ over the holidays. We chose to move the surgery to March, pending the results of his own procedure. He’s hoping he won’t need a surgery.

This man has held my life in his hands through five surgeries. And now he’s contemplating placing his own life in someone else’s hands. And I’m debating the wisdom of placing mine in his again. He is just a man.

Several friends have commented on the perfect timing. Cardiac issues over vacation is so much better than during a surgery… during my surgery…

And once again I remember how fragile life is, how vulnerable we really are, and how essential it is to keep our eyes on the right deity. Anything could happen today. 

So I could keep pretending. Or I could spiral into a panic. But I won’t. Instead, I’ll seek solace in my Savior.

He rules my world. He keeps the planets orbiting the sun. He directs the cancer cells and controls the surgeon’s heartbeat. And for a sometimes unfathomable reason, He loves me – He loves all of us so much more than we deserve. He will always be a Superstar. And, even when He walked this earth, He was never just a man.