An Amazing Heart Surgeon

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There she was, an otherwise healthy woman, with heart disease in the operating room having open heart surgery. During the surgery, the ventilator helped her breathe while the heart-lung bypass machine oxygenated her blood. In all respects, the surgery was without complications. With her heart repaired, the surgeon restored blood flow. The warm flow of blood should have caused her heart to resume beating. Surprisingly, it did not. A mild electric shock was administered. Still no heartbeat.  A drug was given to restore her heartbeat. Still nothing.  Find out what happened and discover what it has to do with you.

The surgeon tried everything he was trained to do, albeit, without success. He feared losing the patient. It was time to try something extraordinary. The surgeon knelt down and whispered into her ear. He said “Your surgery was a success. I did all I could do. Now, it is up to you. Tell your heart to beat again.” Still, he and the medical team feared the worse. Suddenly, to their amazement, her heart started to beat. Crisis was averted. Life was restored!

I heard this story during a homily while I was recently in Florida. After mass, I asked  the pastor about its origin. He told me he had found the story on YouTube. He wasn’t sure where the story truly originated. That put me on a quest to find out. It also motivated me to share the underlying message with you.

It turns out that this story is real. To the best of my ability I have tried to convey what happened in that operating room. The story originated with a pastor in Ohio who had requested to be present in the operating room along with a heart surgeon who was a member of his congregation. After witnessing the events of that day, he subsequently recounted the story to a friend. That friend was pastor, singer and song writer, Randy Phillips of the music group Phillips, Craig and Dean. Inspired by the story, Randy wrote a song about it. More about that song later. First, let me explain what all of this has to do with you and me.

The woman in the story appeared to be in good health. Unbeknownst to her, inside she had a ticking time bomb. She, like so many other people in the United States, had undiagnosed heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. Heart disease accounts for 1 in every 5 deaths. The woman in my story was fortunate that she received the medical attention she needed. Medical science tells us that there are many risk factors for  “physical heart disease.” Today, however, we are concerned with the risk factors that cause “spiritual heart disease.”

Spiritual heart disease is also very serious. There are way too many things in this broken world of ours that can crush our hearts and, spiritually speaking, cause them to stop beating. Perhaps right now you are suffering from some type of spiritual heart disease. The list of things that can crush our heart and spirit seems endless. Things like: grief, loneliness, family, marital and financial strife, past forms of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse or serious health issues can, at times, seemingly stop our hearts from beating. Mental and emotional health issues can also cause heartache and pain. Those struggling with alcohol, drug, gambling and sexual addictions are often forced to contend with a broken heart. Same for those who struggle with their sexual identity or with same sex attraction. One of the primary causes of spiritual heart failure is knowing that Jesus has forgiven our past sins, but being unable to accept His forgiveness and in turn, being unable to forgive ourselves. These and many more things can leave someone depressed, motionless, emotionally empty, and feeling as if their heart has stopped beating. Have you ever experienced this feeling?

The good news is Jesus is an amazing heart surgeon. He has a one hundred percent success ratio in healing the hearts of those who turn them over to Him. When Jesus says, “be not afraid” or “fear not,” He is in essence whispering the words, “Tell your heart to beat again.” Jesus is all we need to repair our damaged hearts. The unfortunate reality is that sometimes you and I allow the voice of the enemy to whisper louder than the voice of God. The enemy tells us we can’t go on. The enemy causes us to fear. The enemy causes us to despair. The enemy wants us to give up. He wants our hearts to die. In stark contrast, Jesus wants us to live. Not only does He want us to live, He wants us to live and experience joy in this life and He wants us to live with Him forever in the next.

Metaphorically speaking, we cannot lie motionless on the surgeon’s table. We cannot get stuck in our most difficult moments. We cannot allow ourselves to become paralyzed . We all have scars and failures, and we must all endure heartaches and pains throughout life. If at this moment, it feels as if your heart has stopped beating, close your eyes and picture Jesus kneeling down beside you to whisper the words, “Tell your heart to beat again!” Then take hold of His hand and allow Him to raise you up like He did the paralytic who was lowered into the room.

Now, going back to our story, I said Randy Phillips wrote a song about it. The song is, Tell Your Heart To Beat Again. I have included it below. I hope this popular Christian song touches your heart like it does mine

Heavenly Father, despite the pains of life that try hard to stop my heart from beating, I know you have sent your Son to save me. Help me to place all of my trust and faith in Him. Help me to get back up on my feet and walk again. In Jesus name I pray. Amen!

AMDG

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Brian Pusateri

Brian is a Christian author and speaker. Brian, a lifelong Catholic, felt his life was forever changed when God spoke to his heart while attending an eight day silent Christian retreat in November of 2011. Soon after that retreat Brian founded 4th Day Letters and Broken Door Ministries. With the God inspired message of mercy and unconditional love that was placed on his heart during that retreat, Brian has been impacting others all over the country and around the world with his weekly letters, his talks, and his all day Christian retreats. In June of 2014, Brian’s life was again impacted in a very dramatic way when his eyesight suddenly became permanently impaired. The initial diagnosis was Multiple Scleroses (MS) but in December of 2019 the diagnosis was corrected to MOG antibody disease, a rare neurological disease. This health challenge has only served to draw Brian closer to God and bolster the importance of this timely yet ageless message.

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