A New Heart and a New Spirit
by Mark Buckley
Founding Pastor
I dropped Kristina off at Banner University Hospital on April 27th. When I kissed her good-bye, I did not know if we would ever see each other again. I drove back to the hospital on May 20th. As I pulled up to the curb, Kristina stood up from a wheelchair and stepped into our car. Three years after her heart had stopped three times, and eighteen months after she had been shocked fifty-nine times by her defibrillator, she had a heart transplant that saved her life once again.
I had expected Kristina would be bed ridden for weeks, but we had a celebration dinner that night. The next evening, we took a walk. She’s been walking a mile a day ever since. It was 112 degrees last week, but like a teenager with a new car, she likes taking her new heart out for a spin every day.
After her transplant, Chris Eaton asked, “Has she invited Jesus into her new heart?” The new heart has not changed her personality. The doctors had warned us that the Prednisone she would be on after the transplant would make her act crazy. Prednisone is one of the medications which suppresses her immune system so her body will not reject the heart. It keeps her awake at night, makes her hands tremble and her face swell, but I am still the craziest one around our house.
Speaking of crazy, it seems like our nation is having a nervous breakdown. Usually when I switch channels from CNN to Fox News, they describe alternative realities. I think it is good to listen to both sides of a conflict to gain wisdom and understanding. However, when the video of George Floyd’s death was played, all the news stations agreed it showed an evil action by the police.
Our nation is in a difficult time, with no easy answers. When times are difficult immature people want someone to blame. We can use China, racism, the police, the president, or immigrants as scapegoats, but that will not solve our problems. God has us in dilemmas which require patience and wisdom. Believers must help squelch violent passions, not inflame others with our judgments. We must love our neighbors, and justice, mercy and faithfulness should be our priorities (Matthew 23:23).
One Saturday morning before going into the hospital, Kristina asked me to accompany her to a dental appointment. Before leaving, I looked at the loafers I was wearing. I felt like I should change into shoes which would match my clothes. But I was busy, and forgot to change. It turned out the dental tech was a friendly man in a wheelchair who was working out of his garage. At nine years of age he had been severely burned in a barn fire started by his cousin. He had no legs. I had been worried about what shoes to wear to a meeting with a man who had no shoes, or feet. It was awkward for me to ask a man I had only known for thirty minutes how he lost his legs. Yet when he told me his story, it bonded us together. Listening to a person’s story is a good way to love our neighbor.
We are rejoicing because God showed us mercy. We are also grieving because our nation is inflamed in rage. Some want revenge for their personal pain, and others grasp for power through intimidation and deceit. Most of us have feet, jobs, homes, food, functioning hearts, and confidence in our justice system. These are privileges not all people share. To understand why people are angry enough to justify burning our cities, we will need to listen to their stories. The same police who bring comfort to most white people, bring fear to many law-abiding black people. That is a sign of injustice.
The YouVersion verse for the day of Kristina’s operation was “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you” (EZ 36:26). A heart transplant is a painful process. It is worth the price when it provides a new lease on life. Many people need new hearts and spirits. Believers can help this happen.