At the heart of it all

The heart is a fascinating thing. Pumping blood day and night. Never stopping, never sleeping, unnoticed most of the time.

That is, until the odd pain prompts the dreaded question: is something wrong.

We always believe that it will happen to others. Not to me. Not now. I am too young.

This week was a wake-up call for us.

Dr. Stephen Alfred - just a decade ahead of us in the race of life - has found that he needs urgent heart surgery. A major blockage which stenting alone will not adequately deal with.

Stephen is no slouch. He doesn't fit my mental stereotype of an obese, sedentary, aging male. As the managing trustee for the Bethany Trust - God has used him to start up and run the Lok Hospital. We at JSK owe our start to his initiative in 2002 after attending the 'Prescription for Hope' conference. His presence as the central pillar of Lok Hospital and Bethany trust was a given.

Or so we think. Scripture tells us that men's days are like grass. We bloom and blossom and then fade away.

Scripture also tells us that we are very precious in God's sight.

I talked to Stephen on the phone yesterday. He expressed his deep gratitude to God for taking him through this process. It echoed some of the comments of our friends who have HIV. Gratitude for God's mercies in the midst of uncertainty.

Stephen has been booked for minimally invasive heart surgery at the Asian Heart Institute in Bandra for Monday Dec. 14th. Your prayers are requested.