Thank you, Dr. Brantly...

Ever since Dr. Kent Brantly was introduced to the world due to his contraction of the ebola virus, I’ve been following his story.  Perhaps it’s because I don’t hear often of people still in existence who choose to abandon everything they hold dear, to follow God’s call to a remote part of the earth where people who are so loved by their Creator die due to a lack of clean water and good medical care.  I’ve loved missionary stories since I was a child, and I’m still fascinated when reading the biographies of people who risked personal comfort for the sake of the Gospel. Whatever it was at first, Dr Brantly and his wife Amber could soon after claim me as one of their biggest fans, cheering them on with hope, praying earnestly and continually to God for His healing.   

I have never met either of them, but I now hope I get the chance to someday – if not here on this earth, then in heaven.  I have a mental list of those people, you know… with Beth Moore, Katie Davis, and Francis Chan on it too, of course. J People who are willing to give up the comfortable for the uncomfortable and who know what truly matters for all eternity, letting that guide their decisions in the present day.  Those people challenge me to do the same, and the Brantlys have done nothing less.  But they also encourage me, because their lives testify that little decisions matter.  They speak encouragement, and they speak conviction.   It's the kind of conviction that doesn’t go away, but simmers in your heart long after its powerful words are spoken. 

I heard a testimony that Dr. Brantly gave to his former church before his family left for Liberia.  He basically said that this large decision to become a missionary doctor and uproot his family simply came from a lot of smaller decisions he was willing to say “yes” to.  His faith in God, and his ability to rest in God’s sovereignty, enabled him to take first a faith leap to Liberia.  That same rest allowed him to trust His Father through a scary uncertain health future.  

In his television interview last week, he stated that he knew God could heal him, but he prayed that even if He didn’t, he would be faithful and never deny Him.   (Haven't seen the interview yet?  Go here.  It's a must watch!) And his wife Amber, when asked if she would be willing to return to Liberia, stated that she had told Kent many years ago that she would follow where God led him, and she would continue to. 

I was reminded of the events in the book of Daniel, and then challenged in my own faith journey.  There are things I want the Lord to do in my own life and in the lives of my children.  I believe He can do them.  I trust His greatness.  But what if He chooses not to?  What then?  How will I respond?  And what about my commitment to where God leads me when it is through a place or a season I would rather not be in?  Will I be walk faithfully without complaining of the difficulties?

“Oh Lord, I believe… help my unbelief,” I pray, as the man asked of Jesus in Mark 9 after Jesus had healed the man’s child.  When I look at the lives of the Brantlys, who were willing to trust the Lord no matter what, it forces me to take a good hard look at my own life that results in a long time of reflection.  I want the Lord to use me.  I dream of living a grand adventure that screams His praise and proclaims His glory.   But I know that can only happen when I choose to trust Him with whatever He might bring into my path – big and small, easy or hard, joyful or painful.   This current season of widowhood far earlier than I would ever want to embrace it continues to stretch me... but man, does it teach me to trust Him in new ways.  

So even though you will probably never read this... I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to say thank you, Dr. Brantly.  Thank you for declaring God’s miraculous healing to a watching world who may be in doubt of who He is or His ability to still do marvelous things.  Thank you for not staying quiet, even with so much backlash and negative response from those fearful of the spread of ebola.  Thank you for risking your life so that others could know Jesus’ love firsthand.  And thank you, for convicting me personally of my need for greater trust in my Father.  

The world needs more people like you, and I am grateful the Lord has chosen to keep you in it for awhile longer.