In Her Memory: by Bradley Nassif

Last updated on: April 22, 2009 at 6:02 am by Scot McKnight

In Her Memory: by Bradley Nassif 2009-04-22T06:02:35-05:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This is from a colleague of mine, Bradley Nassif, who teaches theology at North Park University. Brad is an Eastern Orthodox theologian.

My mother, Lydia, only had an 8th grade education and waited tables
for a living. She was poor and had 4 children to raise alone. A
tragic thing happen to her when she was 50 years old. She became
crippled for life after a surgeon made a horrifying mistake while
operating on her feet. The doctor confused her with the wrong patient
or procedure. Mom originally went into the hospital to correct a
hammer toe that was bothering one of her feet. Instead, the doctor
ended up removing a massive area of her feet related to the metatarsus
that attached her toes. After the surgery she could no longer wiggle
any of the toes or keep steady when standing because the connecting
parts had all been removed. Several bones were left jagged which poked
her flesh from the inside of her feet. Often at night she would wake
up with throbbing pain. Medicine helped take the edge off the pain but
there was always a constant numbing or buzzing in her feet from the
nerve endings that had been cut.

Mom had ten corrective surgeries
after that to try to fix the initial mistake but without success. She
went from a shoe size 7 to a size 3 ½.

Mother was never able to go
back to work after that so the pressure of her financial needs fell
largely on us kids. She went to a lawyer to seek justice. The lawyer
told mom that the doctor claimed he had lost the original x-ray that
was taken “before” the surgery so her case could not be proven. That
x-ray would have showed two perfectly good feet that did not need the
surgery which the doctor had wrongly performed on her. So instead of
receiving a just settlement, mother was awarded a meager $900.00. Five
years later, the lawyer died of cancer.

In a chance meeting, mother
ran into his secretary on the street and was told that her lawyer
accepted a bribe from the doctor’s insurance company and that is why
she lost the case. We did all we could for her, but for the rest of
her life Mom lived with severe chronic pain until her death in 2002 at
the age of seventy-nine.

Some of us have to endure great trials for
long periods of time. For reasons that are sometimes known only to the
Almighty, God allows great evil to come into our lives. Like the story
of Job in the Old Testament, our faith is severely tested. We are
called upon to live with a great mystery, the mystery of suffering.
That is why mother’s story is worth telling during this season of our
Lord’s great Passion and Resurrection. Hers was a life of faith. She
needed faith to believe that God was somehow working his purposes
through her physically ruined life; she needed faith to forgive the
doctor that had so brutally wronged her through his negligence; she
needed faith to fight evil thoughts of revenge that bombarded her soul
day after day; she needed faith to let herself be helped by others when
she seemed unable to give back so little; she needed faith to overcome
the worry of losing her home when the bills came due; she needed faith
in God’s final judgment where, on the Last Day, “the books will be
opened” and justice will be given to all the unjust people that harmed
her during the most vulnerable time of her life.

During this sacred
season of divine suffering, the good news of the Gospel gives great
hope to those of us who know the sorrow of unjust suffering. We can
not always know why God allows us to suffer, but our Orthodox faith
tells us that He is accomplishing redemptive purposes through it. Our
Paschal liturgy proclaims “Through the cross, joy has come into all the
world … Christ is Risen!” And because of that, I suffer, but do not
despair whenever I recall the life of my dear mother. Her grief ended
seven years ago as she fell asleep in the arms of her Lord, who Himself
suffered unjustly on her behalf. And one day I, too, will join her
when I die in faith and in hope of the Resurrection. This is the “good
news” of the Gospel that is so clear and central to the Orthodox
faith. I invite you to embrace it for yourself today.

Bradley Nassif, Ph.D.
Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies
North Park University

Uncategorized

Previous Post

April 22, 2009

A Book That Cannot Be Ignored: T. Scott Womble

Next Post

April 22, 2009 A Brother's Wisdom 39

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Christian group uses the term "Elder" for its church leaders?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Baptists Presbyterians Pentecostals Methodists