Many of you know some if this story, but not all, and I want to share what God has taught me from it.  Two weeks ago yesterday, Robert came in from being on the lawnmower, said his mouth felt like cotton was in it, and asked for something to drink even while he was washing his hands.  I fixed the drink, and he turned around, and I saw it…the left corner of his mouth was slightly turned down, and when he spoke again he was slurring his words!  We immediately (Mom and I) made him sit down and when it didn’t improve in a few minutes, I called 911.  After 2 1/2 days in the hospital, they determined it was a mini-stroke (TIA) and that he would be fine, he just needs to be more cautious from now on.

But that Monday is NOT when his stroke began!  Five years ago this past March, Robert had his mitral valve replaced in his heart.  It had been faulty all his life, and the doctors had been watching it for the 12 previous years.  Finally, however, it had to go.  His arteries were and still are whistle clean, but the valve had been destroyed.  In the surgery, the surgeon replaced that valve with a steel one because Robert was young enough to have more years left and the “pig valves” only last 5 years.  Unfortunately, however, the mechanical valve is attacked by the body, and the drug Coumadin (blood thinner) became part of his life forever.  We were warned that the level in his body had to be maintained at all times at a therapeutic level to avoid any clots forming around that steel valve.  And so we have been rocking along, checking that level once a month, getting good reports, and thinking all the time that Coumadin was the cure all and we’d never have to worry about clots.

WRONG!  Even Coumadin is not foolproof!  Teeny tiny bits of clot material can still accumulate against that valve..and can eventually make a small clot…which we did not know.  Also, Coumadin is VERY unforgiving..dropping below the therapeutic level for only a few days can cause the floodgates to open to ALL clot material and cause major damage.  Apparently for whatever reason, a small clot had formed and it got thrown off the valve, which led to the TIA.

Soooooo..guess what??  Spiritually it works the same way.  Sin is present in every person..none of us is perfect.  Sin is the clot forming material of our hearts and souls, and if left unchecked it can also cause damage.  In our human efforts to clean up and live right, we are no more effective than the Coumadin!  We can do really well for a while, but little bits of sin are still getting through.  And if we are not viligilant, again in our own efforts, then a spiritual clot is thrown from our hearts, into our souls and our minds, and a mini stroke (or worse!) will happen, causing damage.  It can be mild, like Robert’s, or it can be major…causing permanent damage, paralyzing us, and eventually leading to death and eternity in Hell.

The good news is that unlike our physical hearts, our spiritual hearts can be treated with something 5,000 times stronger than Coumadin!  And unlike the artificial heart valve that will one dat fail, this fix…the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross…totally creates a new heart, AND lasts forever!  That’s the kind of transformation that our scientists and researchers will continue to pursue, but never find!  And that’s the transformation each one of us needs, and needs to share with our lost and dying world!

So how’s your stroke risk?  Have you accepted the permanent cure of Jesus?  And if you have, are you helping others find it too?  It’s never too late to start!