Sudden Healing

Saturday, as I was getting dressed for work, my chest began to ache.  I hurt from armpit to armpit, neck to waist.

My first thoughts were neither metaphysical nor spiritual.  I thought, "I must have pulled something.  It'll go away."  I know better.  To look for a cause for a problem is to deny that God, good, is the only cause.  To believe that a problem has a cause and is real is to believe that God can be absent from His creation, that man is not the reflection of God, the image and likeness of God as Genesis puts it.  These ideas came to me later.

The pain persisted.  As I was leaving the house I began to wonder what it was.  Was it serious.  What if...

Suddenly the first lines of one of my favorite hymns (342) filled my thought.

              This is the day the Lord hath made.
              Be glad, give thanks, rejoice.
              Stand in His presence, unafraid.
              In praise lift up your voice.

By the time I reached the word "unafraid" the pain vanished.  So did the fear, the What if's.  I took the time, right there, standing in my driveway to thank God for being there and for the realization that I was in His presence.  I was grateful to recognize that my day was made by God and He was in total control.

It was a productive, happy day.