Monday, April 17th, the day after Easter, I was being transported to the cath lab from the ICU. The plan was to perform an angioplasty to see where the heart blockage was located. If possible, my cardiologist would then place a stent to open the artery. If they couldn’t stent the blocked artery for any reason, I would have to undergo open heart surgery.
After spending Saturday and Sunday in the ICU and now headed to the cath lab, my only thought was, “They better be able to stent this.” I wanted no part of having my chest cracked open. And I didn’t think I could maintain my sanity if I had to stay in the hospital for one more day.
Once in the cath lab, they moved me to a steel table, stripped me naked, and then covered me with a sheet. I was left to my own thoughts for what seemed like an eternity as everyone left the room. “The doctor will be in soon,” they told me.
All alone, my thoughts went to the seriousness of this procedure. I was on the brink of a full-blown heart attack. I knew this because that is what my internal medicine doctor told me when I interrupted him on Holy Saturday morning as he watched his son’s soccer game. (I could hear the cheering in the background.) After listening to my symptoms, he said, “Go to the hospital immediately. You can die any minute.”
While waiting for the doctors to come in and start this procedure, I thought of Kathy and the kids. But in short order, I was thinking about potentially meeting God face to face.
I looked over to the corner of the cath lab, and there was Jesus. For the last two days in the ICU, I had been praying mightily. He said to me, “Don’t worry. Be at peace. I am right here with you.” This supernatural encounter immediately settled me. I was going to be OK no matter what happened. I prayed the surgeon would be able to place a stent. And that is what happened.
But something else happened in that cath lab as I waited for the surgeon. I knew for sure that if I died during the procedure, I would be escorted by Jesus into the presence of God. My Christian faith tells me right in the Bible, when I put my faith in Jesus as the Messiah, I am made right with God. This is my peace. There is no fear of death.
You may wonder, “Why is Charlie telling me this story now?”
Today, I met with a friend who recently had an eerily similar experience. He spoke about laying on that steel table in the cath lab. He said, “I knew I might die right then and there. And if I died, based on my faith, I would meet God.”
But he had a fear I didn’t have. He believes God will judge him after he dies. He will stand before God, and his life will be reviewed by God. He hoped he would judged worthy to enter Heaven. He said, “I was scared. I prayed for forgiveness while waiting for the procedure. But in my heart, I knew I served a merciful God. My hope was he would show me mercy. And that gave me peace.”
We both made it through. But what struck me after hearing his story was the difference in our two faiths. He believes in the possibility of being rejected by God, while I believe in Jesus. He died for my sins and made me righteous in the eyes of God. It is by faith that I am saved, not by works. The Apostle Paul said, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” This was my certainty, my peace at that moment.
On the way home from my meeting with my friend, I thought about the people lying on that steel table who have no faith, no god. What are they thinking? Where is their hope as they face the possibility of dying right then and there?