Our Beating Heart

Last weekend I was given new insight into our beating heart in two encounters. First I was at a retreat called "Prayer In Motion." We meditated on songs using several very simple movements to enhance the experience. One song was based on Psalm 139 - focusing on how wonderfully we are made and how God knows every little thing about us. The refrain said "You made me, You formed me, You kept me alive." For the last phrase we put our hands over our hearts and felt it beating, and thanked God that He chooses to give us our next heart beat. We also acknowledged that He can stop it at any time.

The following day I was at work in the emergency room. A man in his fifties kind of staggered in clutching at his chest, gasping for breath. His EKG showed that he was in the process of having a heart attack. We had 15 min to get him to the cath lab where they would put a balloon through the vessels of his heart to open up the blockage. While we were preparing him, his head went limp and his eyes rolled back. His heart was no longer giving the strong beats that it should. The ventricle which beats with such a strong force to push the blood through the body was in a quivering rhythm called ventricular fibrillation - a deadly rhythm. It was then a fight for his life as CPR was started.

In light of my meditation on the previous day - did I witness the moment that God determined that this man's heart would beat no more? How awesome to realize that God truly controls the very muscle which keeps us alive. Yes, we do have to thank Him for every moment that He gives us because it is His gift to us.

But a curious question - we did manage to get this man's heart beating again - so humans intervened in God's control of his heart. One could say that God has given us the means and technology to do this. And one could say that if he was in another country where medical technology was less advanced - his heart would have never got started again. Ultimately one must conclude that whatever the situation - God still does control the beating of our hearts. And our times are in His hands only. He determines our lives. Do we really appreciate and comprehend the scope of this?

Thank you, my heavenly Father, that my life is in Your hands.