Heal Me, Oh Lord!

Ever noticed how many people Jesus healed?  Bleeding disorders, skin diseases, inability to walk, and more.  A couple thousand years later and needs haven’t changed much.  I am always amazed on any given Sunday how many prayers have to do with physical health.  Prayers are lifted for people recovering from heart attacks, those in rehab for a new hip or knee replacement, or some form of cancer that is wreaking havoc on a loved one.  I wonder if instead of coming to Christ for a miracle after a disorder has arrived on our doorstep, if maybe we could come to Christ praying for wisdom to know how to better care for our bodies before they begin failing us? 

In a time of rising health care costs and a lack of understanding of how our new National Health Care system will work, not everyone is afforded the luxury of regular health care.  I know I went without coverage for almost 15 years as a single parent and then a business owner.  It was simply a luxury I could not afford to add to our ever growing list of needs: school supplies, new shoes for the kids, outrageous utility costs, and car repairs.  My body took the toll as I waited over 10 years to have surgery done on a knee injury and eventually had to have some new parts put in.  I know both my adult sons live without insurance, as well.  They have both worked hard since teenage years, but jobs offering health coverage are few and far between anymore.  So they pay as they go, always hoping the one big health tragedy will never occur. 

A few of us in the Concord area are trying our best to do our part in helping people like single parents and young families who can’t afford insurance.  We know health mattered to Jesus, so surely it matters to us.  We don’t have the ability to toss up a miracle healing or two, but we do have the ability to offer a FREE Mobile Health Fair.  Our Presbyterian friends across the parking lot were gracious enough to turn our community’s name in for a drop by visit this summer, and out of 30 sites chosen per year across the nation, we got one!  The Open Door Free Store jumped on board with our Parish Nurse Health Team leading the way.  Catholics and Presbyterians, United Methodists, health care professionals and local businesses are all joining hands, and skills, to offer this event to our neighbors. 

A van load of medical interns will pull into town the night before the Mobile Health Fair begins on Saturday, August 11.  From 9 am until 2 pm there will be a multitude of screenings offered at no cost to anyone who attends:  blood pressure, BMI, vision, basic hearing, oral screening, glucose testing, skin cancer, lice and skin scopes, depression testing, spirometry, lead screening, pharmacist consult just to name a few of the possibilities!  And did I mention all the health education stations that will be set up? … and I don’t mean boring-read-a-pamphlet stations.  I mean hands on, fascinating, fat-filled test tubes to help you decide which fast food sandwich to consume, to weight belts that can be added or taken off to see what it would really feel like to drop 10 pounds!  Stations will include dental care, nutrition and exercise, cancer, high blood pressure, hypertension, heart disease, family planning, STDs, maternal and child health, mental health and family life issues, substance abuse, children and safety, diabetes, asthma, COPD and more.  There will also be a craft station for the kiddos… and lunch will be served by the Concord Schools Summer Lunch Program from 11 – 1… and did I mention that everything is FREE?!? 

So start praying now, for wisdom on who you can stop and pick up on the way, for guidance as to which screenings you truly need in order to prevent scary health conditions down the road, and for all our health care professionals who are gracious enough to share their day with us.  And if we all do our part to get healthy, that truly would be a miracle, now wouldn’t it!