Thankful(A Story For Thanksgiving)

Dr. Mike Murphy
November 21, 2018

Roaming the halls of the hospital was not the place he thought he would find himself on Thanksgiving Day. But living the life of an emergency room surgeon, often led him to situations he never thought he would have ever found himself in. The emergency room was the last place he planned on being that day. He had planned to take the holiday off, as for the past two months he had been planning to share his faith at a special service his church was having. In the last year, he had come to Christ, accepting Him as his Savior, and now seeking to follow Him each day of his life. And with his faith, had came the call to bring His Word to others. An undeniable drive to share all the Lord was showing him, and to express to others all the Holy Spirit was teaching him.

As the holiday approached, the pastor of his church came to him. Their church was holding a special service on the evening of Thanksgiving, a time for all to come together, and remember each thing they had to be thankful for. The pastor was going to be out of town for the service, and had asked if he would be willing to deliver the sermon that day. To share his testimony with all there, and to witness to them about the difference the Lord had made in his life. For two weeks, he prepared for the sermon every day. Carefully going over and over every word he would say, and asking the Lord to give him each perfect word to speak. And as that Thanksgiving approached, he was beyond excited, he was on fire. Ready to serve the Lord in a way, he just know would place him in a position to share his faith even more.

Two days before Thanksgiving, his plans for that day suddenly changed. The head of the ER at the hospital he worked at, called to inform him he would have to work a twelve hour shift that day, as one of the doctors scheduled had suddenly come down with the flu. No matter how much he pleaded, no matter who he asked, he could not find another doctor to cover his shift. And he soon realized, standing at a bedside, not at a pulpit, would be where he could be found that day.

No matter how hard he tried, he just could not understand it. And the more he thought about it, the more he began to question it. Questioning whether he had heard the call right. Had the Lord really called him to take His Word to others? Or had he simply wanted to take that Word to others so badly, that he had, in reality, called himself? With each doubt, he began to question more why the Lord would take this opportunity away, why the Lord would not just create a way for him to be able to speak His Word to others that day?

As his twelve hour shift began to start that day, he quietly whispered to himself, “Well, the opportunity to witness to anyone today could not happen. Because the only ones who find their way into the ER on a holiday, are those who have tried to find friendship in a bottle.” And in the early hours, he found his words being self-fulfilled, as he made his rounds from one who had partied the night before to another, helping them to recoup from the affects the alcohol had on them.

As mid-morning approached, he found his situation had suddenly changed. The call came to the ER from the paramedics, that a young family of three were being rushed in, and their seven year old son was in critical condition. They had been in a bad car wreck, and the impact had crushed the lungs of the young boy, who was barely holding on to life. He gathered the staff, and prepared the operating room for the situation he knew would soon be coming his way. And as the sirens rang, he could see on the faces of the paramedics just how desperate the situation was. The lungs had not only been crushed, but a rib had pierced one of the pulmonary arteries. A heart surgeon was greatly needed for what this young boy was facing. But being a holiday, he was the closest thing to a specialist the young boy would soon have. And to delay, ensured this young boy would simply not make it.

As the surgery quickly began, he prayed. Not having the time to bow his head in silence, in that moment, he spoke the words out loud. Asking the Lord to guide his hand, and to help him save this young boy’s life. And as he approached the operating table, he realized the situation was far worse than he could have imagined, unlike anything his training had prepared him for. Before he could even begin, he could hear the monitor begin to sound, telling all that the boy’s heart had stopped. And no matter what they tried, they could not get his heart to start again. In the matter of a moment, he tried everything he medically knew, then found himself turning to the One thing medicine could not teach him. He called out to God, screaming out the words with all the passion his voice could sound. Asking the Lord to please reach down, to take this young child in his arms, and to save this young boy’s life.

As if on cue, all in that emergency room, could hear the monitor begin to beat again. And the only thing that could suddenly be heard louder than the beat of the monitor, was the shocked quietness of the staff in that operating room. But the silence passed quickly as his hands began to work, as he repaired the artery the best he could, and restored the lungs to working order. Two hours later, as he finally pulled the mask from his face, he could feel the smile starting to form, as he knew the Lord had answered his prayer.

What he could not know, was not that the Lord had answered his prayer, but how the Lord was about to use his prayer. Several who had been present during the surgery found their way to him. Many with tears in their eyes, unable to explain what they had just been a witness to. Knowing that what medically could have never been done, the Lord had just suddenly performed. A miracle, a true miracle. One they did not just hear about secondhand, but one their own eyes had been a witness to. One that made them more than just take pause, but one that made them look to the Lord for the first time. One that allowed him to explain to each the power that rested in the Lord’s hands, and how those hands had changed his life.

For six more hours that day, he talked to the staff of the hospital about Christ. Witnessing to many, praying with others, and sharing Scripture with even more. And as he shift ended, the Lord suddenly placed another thought in his mind. On a day when he was disappointed he would not get to share his faith with many at his church, he suddenly found the Lord had a different audience in mind that day for him to share his faith with. A faith, that would change the heart of many that day, at a place he did not think he would see that day. And in the middle of his thought, it suddenly became clear, this had been his greatest Thanksgiving. A day that let him see everything he had to truly be thankful for, and to be shown the glorious hope that others would soon turn to. Finding that true thankfulness is always found in the opportunities He gives us. Opportunities that do not always find us where we want to be, but always where He needs us most.