Readers sharing how Unity has changed their lives 44
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EXPRESSIONS
Unity is a healing ministry. Its teachings point us inward
where, if we let go and listen to inner wisdom, our body-mind surrenders and heals into wholeness. I was reminded
of this one Sunday morning in March 2015 when I doubled
over in abdominal pain. My husband David and I had been
out with friends the evening before, but I knew this was
more than food poisoning.
I cried out to David and called a friend to cover our
church service as David drove me to the hospital. At first, the
emergency room doctor wanted to give me a prescription for
pain and send me home. I knew that was not right. I told her
scar tissue had formed before in my abdomen
from previous trauma. As I rose from the
bed, my blood pressure skyrocketed, and I
suddenly collapsed. They called in a trauma
surgeon and I felt relieved that I had trusted
my inner wisdom, knowing I needed more
than a prescription.
After CT scans showed a blockage, I had
emergency exploratory surgery on Monday
as my colon had ruptured and I had become
septic. They cleaned my abdominal lining,
wrapped me in bubble wrap, and gave me a paralytic and
IV antibiotics to flush out the toxins. I was intubated, and
I ballooned up from fluids. My husband, daughter Jill, and
son Steve were with me. Seeing them gave me the courage to
surrender to what was happening.
The surgery continued on Tuesday morning. My surgeon
removed the part of my colon that had died, and I was given
an ostomy bag and told a reverse ostomy could be performed
once the colon healed in four to five months.
After 10 days on a ventilator, an attending physician
suggested he would do a tracheotomy. My body reacted
violently, and yet again I surrendered, thinking if that was
what I had to do to see my children and grandchildren again,
I was willing.
I felt at peace when a few hours later, a different doctor
ordered a respiratory test that showed my numbers were
good and the ventilator could be removed.
One of the requirements for leaving the ICU is that you
must walk to a chair. Wanting to hasten my progress, I
insisted on attempting this. A nurse came to assist me
because I was weak. My heart pounded so hard I thought I
was having a heart attack. I went deep into the stillness of
my being, unable to communicate. My trauma surgeon tried
to speak with me, and when I could not reply he ordered an
electroencephalogram (EEG). In my mind I feared trying to
walk had set me back.
After the scan, I was taken to a room on a regular floor
where a nurse massaged my legs. In a soothing voice, she told
me, “We can bring you back, but you have to want to live.”
I remained still, and a revelation surfaced
within me: The room, this hospital, the
universe was a living, breathing organism.
I heard a voice within say, Stop and let me
heal you. A comforting silence enfolded me,
and I knew I would survive.
My family, friends, and congregants held
the high watch and did what was needed to
continue our ministry. They supported us
with prayers, food, and visits. Guest speakers
covered the 14 Sundays I was away. I returned
to the pulpit in June and had a reverse ostomy in late July.
The entire experience was an intensive teaching about
healing through surrender. What I rediscovered is that
the first step to healing is to let go and let God. We do this
through quitting the struggle and surrendering to what is.
In the stillness of acceptance, we rise into a realization that
we are a part of and surrounded by a universal energy whose
nature is to heal.
In stillness we accept into us this continuous healing
energy and experience the truth Rev. Mary Kupferle long ago
wrote: God is healing you now.
REV. JANICE CARY IS AN ORDAINED UNIT Y MINISTER
WHO HAS SERVED UNIT Y OF FORT PIERCE, FLORIDA,
SINCE 2004. SHE IS A LIFE COACH AND SINGER/
SONGWRITER AND HAS A DEGREE IN COMMUNICATIONS
FROM OAKLAND UNIVERSIT Y IN ROCHESTER, MICHIGAN.
VISIT UNITYOFFORTPIERCE.COM.
Healing Through
SURRENDER
What I rediscovered
is that the first step
to healing is to let
go and let God.
BY REV. JANICE CARY