Not By Chance

Thus Donna—my first psychotherapy client at the Casa—coincidentally became the first client I saw in my new home office. In the course of that session Donna mentioned a physician who had treated her in a Camden, South Carolina hospital when she was only eight years old. At the end of this session I asked Donna if she recalled that doctor's name.
Donna shook her head. "I'm ashamed to say I don't remember."
When we met for a second session the following week Donna entered my office clutching what appeared to be a framed picture in her arms. "When I got home from our session last week I dragged out an old trunk that has accompanied me in my world travels for the government. Buried on the very bottom was this picture with the doctor's name written on the back."
"Donna, turn the picture so it faces me and please don't tell me the doctor's name," I requested. Leaning forward as Donna turned the picture toward me, I saw a diminutive, dapper man sporting a bow tie as he stood beside a thin little girl who is sitting upright in a hospital bed.
"Donna, I can tell you the name that's written on the back of your picture. That's Dr. Carl Alexander West. He is my grandfather's baby brother." I paused to take a breath before continuing.
"Remember how I've told you that God has a purpose for you?"
Donna nodded slowly, her eyes filling with tears, an expression of wonder on her face. "Yes, and now for the first time I'm able to believe that must be true. This is the second time God has used a member of your family to save my life. As you once told me, 'God doesn't make any junk!' " Donna then continued in a whisper that revealed the depth of her wonder. "Just think about what God has done for me. I've traveled all around the world since that picture was taken of me with Dr. West back in 1948. And more than 40 years later, I connect with a counselor in Phoenix, Arizona which is more than 2,000 miles from my hometown in South Carolina. And the counselor I find—the one I am assigned to meet with—is the great niece of the doctor who saved my life when I almost died 51 years ago."
Donna and I fell silent as we considered how tenderly God had cared for her and was continuing to provide for her. What Donna did not know was how tenderly He had cared for me by prompting me to volunteer at the Casa. God knew precisely what both Donna and I needed and He provided for each of us. My reverie was interrupted by Donna's whispered question.
"Lynn, do you feel it?"
"Yes, Donna. I feel a wonderful, warm presence—as if I'm being embraced by pure Love." It was a thrill to again experience that same, palpable Presence I first felt not too many months earlier when my mother lay dying.
Donna's smile was radiant. "Yes, that's it exactly! I feel like I'm receiving a wonderful, warm hug from the Holy Spirit."
After Donna and I completed our work together my health continued to improve during the next nine years. One by one I was able to again discard my scooter, then my crutches and finally my cane. For the first time since 1979 I was able to walk reasonable distances without any mobility aids. I stored these aids in the garage. There I passed them each time I headed out to the car and there, unused, they collected dust—each a silent reminder of God's faithfulness to me.