Hysterectomy by Faith (Part 1)

When Jesus heard that [Lazarus] was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. Jesus then said to [his disciples] plainly, "Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe." (Jn 11.6, 14-15).

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac . . . He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead (Heb 11.17, 19).

She's a beautiful thirty-one year old daughter of Sarah (1 Pt 3.6). With her gentle and quiet spirit, she is precious in the sight of God. She cares for her home as a service to God. She loves her Bible and prays for her husband's progress in faith. She raises her daughter as an indebted steward, not an entitled older sibling (Lk 15.29). She's also my wife.

At the Fall, manhood and womanhood became hard for all who participated in the rebellion against God. I was there. Amy was there. And now we face one of the decisions we've inherited from our first parents.

Amy suffers from endometriosis, which is runaway tissue that squats in unwanted places. It's more common than one might think, but affects different women in different ways. For Amy, it causes an extreme amount of pain, infertility and years of frustration. Each month it will zap weeks of strength and cripple gladness. We've exhausted the various treatments and face what it the ultimate (earthly) cure: hysterectomy on July 2. We remain ever more hopeful for the heavenly cure: resurrection on the day of the Lord.

This has caused no small amount of reflection. The defining issue for us has been whether or not we can have a hysterectomy by faith. You can read how God is transforming Amy here. I hope to think out loud over the next few weeks and months about this. Through the two passages above God has given me a grid through which I can interpret this situation. Perhaps, God will help us all find great comfort and sustaining faith in Jesus.