You are marvelously created!

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it."            John 1: 1-5   NIV

How she loved those verses.  Such depth, such incredible insight and understanding into the truth of Jesus!  She had memorized the verses and repeated them on many a sleepless night which had brought comfort and peace.

Her recent experiences with physical rehabilitation had given her pause to think on the whole aspect of creation of the human body.  As she thought about the details and workings of her physical body she marveled again at the Creator.  She rejoiced and worshipped over this marvelous omnipresent God who  continues to be the designer.

She remembered as a student nurse working in the delivery room and actually seeing a baby being born.  The exultant moment as God brought forth a new life into this earthly world.  What a miracle to realize that a tiny egg joined with a tiny sperm and by God's design a new life was formed.  In the nine months following conception that new life took on amazing development all pre-ordained by God!  Each new life had promise and meaning.  Each new life dearly loved and cared for by the Creator.  What blessed thoughts!  And to think that every human being that has ever existed and will ever exist is distinctively unique.

As a nurse she knew that the body itself was created with wonderful attributes.  Just the simple everyday functions that everyone takes for granted can be scientifically challenging to duplicate.  Take swallowing, breathing, blinking the eyes, speaking, walking, lifting an arm.....  Ah..and this is where she realized day to day functions can face challenges.

Since her brain cancer had effected her left thalamus, which governs motor skills, walking and lifting her arm proved challenging.  However, God has also created a highly functioning muscle unit...the brain... that can be re-trained to compensate for injury or trauma.  How incredible!  She began to realize that probably 50 years ago she would have been put 'on a shelf' and forgotten, due to her brain cancer.  As a nurse back in the late fifties and early sixties, she knew there did not exist any viable research on brain rehabilitation.  But now there is notable evidence that the brain has great capacity to re-learn bodily functions.

Critical to the bodily rehabilitation, however, is the determination and positive attitude of the patient...the person undergoing rehab/therapy.  From the first day she entered Upstate Hospital in Syracuse, NY, prior to her confirmed diagnosis of brain cancer, she forced herself to get out of bed and walk.  She remembered how the nurses expressed concern (and a little alarm) that she would stumble out into the hallway, hang onto the hospital railing and struggle to walk around the unit.  A physical therapist was immediately called who gave her a walker for assistance.  No one wanted her to fall.  But she knew that in order to prevent muscle atrophy she had to keep moving.

That determination has continued since that June of 2010 when she entered the hospital.  Oh, there have been moments....of depression, tears, helplessness, frustration!  But during all that time there was the powerful presence of Jesus.  He physically appeared to her while she was in Syracuse and again was there at her bedside in Spectrum, Grand Rapids, during those once a month week long treatments of the powerful chemotherapy, methotrexate.  She saw Him standing there next to her, arms outstretched, loving and caring for her and constantly watching over her.  His presence gave her hope.  His presence gave her encouragement as she faced the most difficult time in her earthly life.  Jesus wanted her to heal.  Jesus wanted her to get her life back together.  Jesus wanted her to remain determined and positive.  Jesus did not want her to give up.

Now as she worked with the therapists at MaryFreeBed she grabbed onto powerful words.  Repetitive! and Quality!  As Liz and Janna encouraged her, she understand the words.  Repetitive....repeat the exercise but don't overdue.  Quality....concentrate on the individual exercise to give it your best but don't push to exhaustive quantity.  "Yes, Janet, remember, the brain can be re-trained and you can do it!"  They even instructed her to talk to her hand as the fingers moved and to talk to her leg reminding the knee to bend.  The brain was being reminded of its functions and research had proved that worked.

All the time God was by her side.  He had created her.  He had known her in her mother's womb.  He had known what He had planned for her life.  He rejoiced that she knew Him and loved Him and listened to Him.  Her earthly life was not finished just yet.  He had more for her to do.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  ........All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."     Psalm 139: 13-14, 16