Sightless Among Miracles, Carter Presidential Center
By R.T. Whalen
Days pass and the years vanish, and we walk sightless among miracles. Lord, fill our eyes with seeing and our minds with knowing; let there be moments when Your Presence, like lightning, illumines the darkness in which we walk. Help us to see, wherever we gaze, that the bush burns unconsumed. And we, clay touched by God, will reach out for holiness, and exclaim in wonder: How filled with awe is this place, and we did not know ,
From the Mishkan T’filah, “A Prayer for Shabbat”
I just finished a new book by Mark Topazian, Healing Purpose: Finding Satisfaction in a Healthcare Career. I have shared many of the same medical experiences and locations of the author. I was particularly impressed by the extensive notes/references that accompany each chapter and the importance of the “spiritual history”.
There was one chapter in Healing Purpose, Why Jesus Went into Healthcare, that reminded me of another authors similar interest; Health Care, by Amy-Jill Levine in her book, Jesus for Everyone: Not Just Christians. These authors from different religious traditions describe complementary understandings of Jesus’s healing and how that can be translated into our current cultures.
While at Kijabe Hospital (2011) in Kenya, I questioned how the Somalia population viewed the Christian activities, beliefs and care at this Christian mission hospital. The answer given was: “God lives there!”. For me, it has been in the healing witness in other contexts that have brought meaning to the practice of medicine and deepened my faith.
God, give us eyes to see your healing work in this world,
Marvin
References
Wallen R. T. (1995) Sightless Among Miracles, Carter Presidential Center
https://homepages.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/atlanta/carter/carterwallen.html#:~:text=Sightless Among Miracles.
Mishkan T’filah, “A Prayer for Shabbat”
https://www.godwardweb.org/sightlessamongmi.html
Topazian, M. (2025). Healing Purpose: Finding Satisfaction in a Healthcare Career. InterVarsity Press.
Levine, A.-J. (2024). Jesus for Everyone: Not Just Christians. HarperCollins.
Hage, M. L. (2011). Healing on Trial.
http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2011/12/healing-on-trial.html
