Perfect Number SEVEN

The number seven is considered “God’s perfect number”. Starting from the book of Genesis all the way through the book of Revelation, the number seven appears in the Holy Bible more than any other number and in almost all references, symbolizes God’s perfect completion. God uses the number seven not only to reveal the beginning of time as the seventh day marks the completion of His creation but also uses it to reveal the end of times as the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet will mark the completion of the mystery of God. In the Bible, you will find seven days of creation, seven churches, seven spirits, seven stars, seven trumpets, seven seals, seven plagues…well you get the picture – The number seven is a very significant number to God.

The number seven is pretty significant to me as well as it was 7 years ago today that I received a 3 am wake up call that would change my life forever. After living 20 years with diabetes, 4 years with kidney failure and after 13 months on a pancreas transplant waiting list that resulted in 6 calls that were false alarms, the nurse on the phone was notifying me that call number 7 was the “real deal”; I was the best match for a pancreas that had become available and I needed to get to the University of Maryland Medical Center as soon as possible.

By 6am, I was on a plane with my brother Mark bound for Baltimore Maryland. The plan was to receive a simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant where I would get a pancreas from a cadaver and a kidney from my brother. I knew my life was about to be dramatically changed physically but I had no idea what was about to happen to me spiritually.

I remember my mom saying she prayed during the entire trip to Baltimore asking God not for one miracle that day but many miracles. Well all I can say is God certainly heard her prayer that day because He kicked started the day with an incredible miracle and has never stopped since. Yes God’s perfect number is seven and in the past seven years, He has given me seven perfect miracles.

Miracle 1:
My brother was prepped to donate the kidney and just as he was taken to surgery, my surgeon received a call that John Hopkin’s Hospital had received the matching kidney for my pancreas; they decided they couldn’t use it and was offering it to me. My surgeon accepted it; I got both organs from the same donor and my brother was spared at the very last moment. (BTW I have nicknamed him Isaac)

Miracle 2:
After the transplant, I developed a staph infection on the pancreas which caused a serious threat to both me and the pancreas. After a 5 week battle and after a tremendous amount of spiritual self-discovery, God healed me; the pancreas survived and I got to take him home with me from the hospital.

Miracle 3:
In 2004 I experienced a serious bout of acute pancreas rejection and once again found myself in an intense battle to save the pancreas. After a week of an aggressive therapy treatment, the rejection was overturned and the pancreas survived.

Miracle 4:
The 20 years of diabetes had caused the nerve endings in my stomach to become paralyzed; I was no longer able to properly digest food and was suffering from malnutrition. In 2005, I was told I would need a feeding tube indefinitely but after only 7 months, I was able to start eating on my own and the tube was removed.

Miracle 5:
In 2007, both my transplanted kidney and pancreas went into chronic rejection and failure. I was told the damage was irreversible and I needed dialysis, would need another kidney transplant and would have to start taking insulin again. Then just after completing a training class for dialysis, both organs began rejuvenating itself and all the levels of my blood work came down. I was able to come off of insulin and didn’t have to undergo dialysis.

Miracle 6:
The many years of diabetes had also caused me to lose most of my vision. In 2008, my vision was restored from 20/200 to 20/25 in my left eye allowing me see more clearly and drive for the first time in 4 years.

Miracle 7:
(And the best miracle of all) I was able to finally find a church to call home, rededicated my life to the Lord and was baptized in the name of JESUS!

The past 7 years has been a roller coaster ride with lots of peaks, steep drops and loops in-between requiring me to hang on with a tight grip and keep my seat belt buckled at all times. God has used the falls in my physical health to cause a rise in my spiritual health as I have learned to seek and trust Him like never before. I have learned that there are times when God will break me down but it is only so He can build me up stronger than before. He allowed me to reach a point where it was absolutely clear to me and everyone around me that no doctor, treatment or drug could help me and then stepped in to “show off” in a way that only He can. I have learned that when I am helpless, I am certainly not hopeless; that when I am at my weakest, He will be at His strongest. God has blessed me with the opportunity to experience Him as my JEHOVAH-ROPHE -"The Lord Who Heals. "

In the Bible, the number seven means perfect, complete; finished. I know these past seven years have been perfectly planned by God allowing me to become more spiritually complete but somehow I get the feeling that God is not finished with me just yet. My prayer is that God will use me seventy times seven to be a testimony of His amazing grace, unconditional love, and miraculous healing power.

SDG