A recent issue of The Atlantic asked the question “What was
the Greatest Gift of All Time?” Not
surprisingly, people’s answer to that question was impacted by their
experience. The director of
philanthropic giving for The Smithsonian named James Smithson, who gifted his
entire estate to ‘found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian
Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of
knowledge.” Darren Walker, president of
the Ford Foundation named Edsel Ford’s gift to Detroit of Diego Rivera’s
masterpiece Man and Machine. The
columnist Amy Dickinson went big and small:
She writes “God did send his only son to Earth to heal us. But then there’s the green Spyder bike my mom
gave me when I was 8. I don’t put these
gifts on the same level, but that bike was great." (“The Atlantic, December 2014)
Dickinson’s comments struck me in particular. Partly because I too would name a bike as one
of the best gifts I ever received (mine happened to be a Schwinn Sting Ray with
banana seat, mag wheel and ‘sissy bar’ in back). But also because I believe that healing might
just be the best gift that God gives.
Over and over I have seen my own body and psyche heal from
small and large hurts. Usually there is
a scar of some sort, but healing as well.
A friend speaks about the sexual abuse she suffered as a child in such a
way that others are able to name their pain. She has healed from the trauma. Then most
recently I heard of the death of a family friend. Her last years were not pleasant ones, as she
and her family struggled with her Alzheimer’s.
She was not cured, but she is now whole and healed.
With most of these injuries, there is a perfectly rational, scientific
or therapeutic explanation for how recovery happens. I am grateful for the researchers and
practitioners that help bring about healing using the best that science has to
offer. But I also choose to believe that
in and around our body and psyche’s natural regeneration is a Healer that I
name God.
This Thanksgiving I am grateful for healing of all
sorts. How about you? What is the best gift you ever received?
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