From Soldier to Patient: Finding the "Cure"
When I was deployed to Iraq as a doctor and soldier, I never thought I would end up a patient, cared for by the same doctors and nurses with whom I had served as a caregiver. Fortunately, God used my experiences as a patient as part of His purposes for my life. In God's providence, I ended up at an Army hospital in San Antonio, Texas, and while there was able to meet one of my favorite authors, Max Lucado.
As a soldier serving in Iraq, I was aware of the dangers the soldiers faced. After all, I was there as a doctor, whose job it was to take care of the sick and the wounded. Each day I awoke to the knowledge that this could be the day I might suffer injury or death. Each night, I thanked God that I had survived yet another day. If I were to be injured, I assumed it would be by a bullet or a roadside bomb. It did not cross my mind that I might end up a patient for any other reason.
Near the end of my tour of duty in Iraq, I sustained an injury that was really minor, compared to the life and death injuries of many of my fellow soldiers. Late one night, our medical team was asked to respond to the scene of a deadly car accident. Because we were going into enemy territory, I was dressed in full "battle rattle," wearing full body armor, helmet, weapon, and ammunition. Jumping from the ambulance with an extra 50 pounds on my back, I twisted my knee, tearing ligaments and cartilage. A few days later, while covering a shift in the emergency room of the combat hospital in Baghdad, one of the orthopedic surgeons saw me limping on my swollen knee and asked to examine it. He said I'd done some major damage, and wanted me on the next MEDEVAC (Medical Evacuation) flight to Germany to have it repaired. Though I'd come to Iraq as a doctor, I was leaving as a patient.
The MEDEVAC system took good care of me and the dozens of injured soldiers that I had joined on the flight out of Iraq. We were flown first to the large military hospital in Germany, where we were evaluated. Those with the most serious injuries and those who required immediate surgery stayed in Germany, while the rest of us were loaded on another MEDIVAC flight for Andrew's Air Force Base and Walter Reed Hospital. From Washington, D.C., I was sent to another military hospital near St. Louis, and, finally, to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. There, the Army orthopedists gave me the best of care, getting me into surgery within just a few days, repairing the injured knee. But God had one more surprise for me.
One of the things I feel most strongly about is the idea that the call to ministry is not just for those in the full time professional ministry—pastors, missionaries, evangelists, and so on.
Rather, I believe that the call to ministry is given to every Christian, both lay and clergy.
I do not think God calls only a select few to ministry, but calls each of us to ministry. In fact, I coauthored a book on lay ministry, which was published while I was in Iraq.
Shortly after my surgery, the orthopedists came into my hospital room and told me they were going to let me go out on a pass for the weekend, as long as I stayed on my crutches. Was I excited! I would be able to attend a "real" church service for the first time in months. And I knew exactly where I would go. San Antonio was the home of Oak Hills Community Church, pastored by one of my favorite authors, Max Lucado. Sunday came, and I ventured out on my crutches, rented a car, and headed for Max Lucado's church. Along with several thousand others, I joined in the service, eager to hear the sermon. When Max stepped to the podium, he announced that his Sunday's sermon would be the first in a series, entitled "The Cure For the Common Life." What was the cure for the common life, I wondered? Max soon answered my question.
God never intended that we live a common life.
Rather, he made each of us to be a unique, one-of-a-kind individual, with special gifts and abilities that he wants to use in his service. It is when we discover our place of ministry that we rise above the common life to one that is extraordinary. Later, I had the privilege of spending time with Max Lucado and learning more about "The Cure for the Common Life." Soon I would leave San Antonio and the Army to return to my civilian life. As I returned, I realized that my time in Iraq had been more than an interruption in a busy life—it had also been a time and place for ministry. Indeed, I had discovered the cure for the common life. God has a special place of service for each of us, wherever we are, in all times and in all places. Even in Iraq!
Want to Learn More? Gary Morsch is the coauthor of two books that will encourage and inspire you. Heart and Soul: Awakening Your Passion to Serve, coauthored with Dean Nelson, is available through Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City at www.beaconhillbooks.com.
Please note: All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of original publication but may have since changed.
