A Blessed Christmas to You and Those You Love
I hope this finds everyone doing well and preparing to celebrate Christmas, hopefully with health and peace.
When Janet came down with COVID-19 in early November, she initially made progress towards recovering, and we all thought that gratefully, her case would be a mild one. Our hearts sank when a week later, she took a significant downturn and ended up in the ICU of one of the local hospitals, close to needing respiratory support. Two of our kids also tested positive for COVID-19 during this time, and I was too sick with severe non-COVID-19 bronchitis. Thus for Thanksgiving, our entire family was separated, our four kids and I quarantined from each other, and all of us wondering if Janet would make it off oxygen and out of the ICU. There were nights I couldn't and didn't want to sleep, thinking that I'd get a phone call telling me Janet was intubated, or even worse - that I'd wake up to find out Janet was already gone.
During the long days in the ICU, I did get to visit Janet several times (before I got sick myself), and we talked, amongst other things, about hope and trust. We were continuing to trust that God would protect and take care of Janet and our family, including helping our kids to relate and cope, even though our lives and plans had been so completely disrupted. We were trusting that God would also protect Beacon and the ministry that we had seen Him develop both the community and students and residents—trusting that God would, in some way, restore in some way what we had lost during this time. And ultimately, trusting that our hope in God would somehow be strengthened.
It was, therefore, almost poetic that on Thanksgiving Day, we received the news that Janet had begun to "make the turn" - her oxygen requirements had finally begun to decrease. She ultimately spent ten days in the ICU and came home on home oxygen on December 1. Janet is still on nighttime oxygen as of today (December 23), but every day she has steadily improved. Her stamina and endurance are still relatively low, but it is nothing compared to her being where she belongs - at home.
As we approach Christmas, and as Janet and I have taken time off to process what has happened, I've thought about the concepts of hope and home. Whether we realize it or not, all of us look for something to hope for or hope in. Sometimes the hope is very concrete - hoping to get the residency or fellowship you are applying for or hoping to have Chick-fil-A tonight for dinner. But in the worst moments, when things aren't working out, when things are falling apart, we want to be in our real home - the place where our hope is most secure. On a concrete level, our family did not relax, and Janet wasn't entirely at peace until we were all fast and reunited in our home. On a higher level, we were able to come to ultimate peace knowing that spiritually, we were all secure in our spiritual home, a strong tower where we are safe (Proverbs 18:10), built on a rock (Matthew 7:24-25), where our true hope doesn't disappoint because He is with us (Romans 5:5).
Matthew 6:21 says, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also". It would also be true that where your treasure is, there your ultimate home, hope and strength will be found. As we consider this Advent season, which has been like no other, where is our "home"? Where is our ultimate source of hope? Do we have a hope which doesn't disappoint? For Janet, my family, and I, we rejoice in this celebration of the birth of Jesus, that our hope does NOT disappoint. As Pastor Steve Treash of Black Rock Church in Connecticut recently stated, even amid the insecurity and uncertainty of this current world, it is STILL Christmas. And so it is STILL about Jesus. May we all trust in this hope, which will never disappoint, this Christmas season and beyond.
God bless, and a blessed Christmas to you and those you love.
Dr. David Kim
CEO, Beacon Christian Community Health Center
Staten Island, NY
