A Heart For Jesus

I took a trip to the emergency room last February, during Heart Awareness Month, nonetheless, after nearly passing out one evening after dinner because of said heart. That visit led to medical testing and many visits to my Cardiologist. I had never set foot in a Cardiologist’s office until I suddenly needed one just shy of my 30th birthday, so that made me feel really old. Bummer. Throughout the visits and testing, I found out I had Tachycardia, which is just a fancy word for my heart beating super fast at all times, which makes me really, really fatigued and often short of breath. I will survive, good news, but I do have to take medication every day to keep my heart slowed down, don’t love that.

However, I did recently have another test done on my heart. A stress test. This test involved me going to the hospital where they sandpapered my chest and stomach, proceeded to alcohol wipe those scratches, and then stuck sensors right on top of the burning skin. It was a wild experience, and the nurse warned me before sandpapering me that it would hurt. No problem, I am tough.

Despite the discomfort, I had the best conversation with the nurse that I have had in a really long time. As a writer, I love a good conversation. I love hearing others bravely tell their stories. Most of all, I love learning how Jesus is working in the lives of His children. The kind nurse and I struck up a conversation mid-sandpapering after he asked what I did for a living. I informed him that I was a stay-at-home homeschool mom. I didn’t have time to get into my writing career because our conversation moved too quickly. He followed his first question with the most frequent question I get asked as a homeschool mom. What curriculum do I use? I explained my curriculum choice and why I loved it. He, an older gentleman who did not at all look his age, told me he would love to find something like that for his grandchildren to help them learn to read. As I continued to talk about my homeschool journey, our conversation quickly shifted to Jesus.

He unashamedly began to talk about Jesus, raising children to know Christ, his time spent living in other states, and that we need to spend a lot of time in the Bible reading God’s word. He clearly laid out the Gospel, eloquently speaking about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus, and my heart was encouraged by his words.

What really struck me to my core was that he began to share the Gospel with me, before he even knew I was a fellow Christian. He wasn’t scared to proudly proclaim Jesus, even in a busy hospital. I could tell he was a phenomenal nurse and that it wasn’t his first time boldly proclaiming Jesus to the people he served every day. I told him that I was a Christian, too, and that I was really encouraged by our conversation. About the time we finished up our discussion, the doctor came in to watch my heart rhythm while I walked on the treadmill. I finished the test, got dressed, and he walked me to the main door so I could go home.

God unexpectedly helped my physical heart and encouraged my spiritual heart all in one visit. He knows exactly what we need when we need it. May we boldly proclaim Jesus wherever we go and to whoever we come in contact with.

Originally published on my Substack. Subscribe to my Substack here.