After a while I asked him an open ended question about his boys. Just to tell me about them, then I shut my trap and listened. He started with the oldest, then the middle one, and when he got to the youngest, Evan, apparently he realized I really did intend to listen to him. (Old adage at work from youth ministry, If you care about me, you'll listen to me.) He told me about why he and his wife call their son Evan from Heaven.
To shorten the story a little, the boy was born with a problem with his spine that needed surgery while he was very young. The doctors recognized it as a common enough procedure that there was little concern and sent them to a very well known and reputable children's hospital where the operation was done. Unfortunately the surgeon made a mistake. He severed some critical nerves in the upper spine, and suddenly instead of a simple surgery the ruling was that he would never walk. The family was crushed, but refused to quit. With a whole lot of prayer and hard work, they were determined to love Evan, and give him the fullest life focused on the things he can do.
To date, Evan's spinal column has slowly and miraculously regrown around the severed nerves, and reconnected itself to the rest of his body. He walks farther every day.
I don't know which I consider the greater miracle, the healing, or the fact that never during the telling did my new friend show any bitterness or resentment. I do know this: In a broken world, God brings healing of all kinds.
Jeremiah 33:6
New International Version (NIV)
6 “‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.
