The doctors went to work on Barbara while Christians across the country prayed. Her heart beat so quickly (200-300 beats per minute) that it was not filling with blood, and her blood pressure went down. This low pressure could harm the baby if it continued. The doctor made a quick decision. Using electric shock, he successfully reduced her heart rate to 75 beats per minute. Afterward, through tears, we gave thanks for God's intervention in saving both Barbara and the baby.
We talked quite a bit after that terrifying event. Often we think we are in control. We think we can plan our lives. We struggle over so many insignificant things, but we find ourselves asking, "What really matters?"
In the midst of these best and worst of times, a certain book reached us like a beacon in the darkness. It's a book that rips away the veil of idealism about life. It deals with purpose and significance. It gives meaning to life's storms, to prosperity, to our search for security.
The book? Ecclesiastes.
In its pages Solomon paints the paradoxes of life better than Charles Dickens ever dreamed. Whether we're experiencing the best or worst of times, God must be our reference point (see Eccles. 12:13, above). If not, then life is emptiness-void of meaning.
As I drove away from the hospital later that afternoon, I reflected on how different people respond to crisis situations. And I wondered, What is their reference point for a life and death situation? Where do they find meaning? How do they make sense out of suffering?
That night, as I put our five children to bed, we crowded together and prayed. Benjamin, then eight, prayed as only a child can: "Father, we give thanks that Mommy got sick 'cause we know You want us to give thanks in everything...and we give thanks that she's okay, too."
He prayed with childlike faith, and a mature perspective. He understood how God wants us to respond in the best and worst of times. Sometimes it takes a child's faith in God to remind us, doesn't it?
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