Hopkins

I have always been fascinated by real-life medical shows and although Andy can't even stand to be in the same room when I am watching one, I am intrigued by watching surgeries and the inter-workings of the human body. So of course when I saw previews for a 6-part series on ABC called Hopkins, I knew I had to watch it. It is a look at some of the stories/doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. Although the first couple episodes were good, the 4th and 5th ones really affected me. As a disclaimer, I know my mom/pregnancy hormones have something to do with it, but it is so much more than that. I have been awed by the resilience of the human body; I have been amazed by the technological advances that allows doctors to take a heart out of someone's body and place it in someone else's body within hours and begin beating. Most of all, I see the sovereignty of God at work.

An episode that aired last week on the 17th was particularly emotional for me. A 2 1/2 year-old little boy who had been perfectly healthy up to that point, was brought in with heart problems and within moments, the parents found out that he had little chance of survival without a heart transplant. They show this sweet little boy, lying on the stretcher, hooked up to all kinds of machines and crying for his mom - gut-wrenching to say the least. The raw emotion of his parents finding out this news was very difficult to watch and of course all I could picture was my sweet Mason which lost it for me!

I am reading the book, The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian right now along with some other moms through my church and it has opened my eyes and encouraged me to be proactive in my children's lives through my prayers. We actually just read a chapter on health and praying for your children's health. I immediately thought of this chapter while watching the episode of Hopkins and it made me want to fall to my knees at that very moment and praise God for Mason's health. It also really puts into perspective the phrase that so many people say when they are pregnant that they just want a healthy baby and don't care if its a boy or girl - I never really understood this until I was pregnant with Mason and now again, I desire that again.

Anyway, just wanted to share some thoughts and leave you with one of my favorite passages from Psalm 139 which has always reminded me of the awesome power of God and my daily reminder of one of his greatest creations:)

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. [1]
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.