Faith-Filled Friday

Hello and welcome back to Faith Filled Friday.

Yesterday I watched a documentary about a man who had lost his face as a result of doing his job as a fire fighter. He was accustomed to running into the flames to save a life but one day it all changed and he was the one who would end up fighting for his own life. Years later found him with no face, no eye lids, nose or even ears. How does one get used to that? His family had gotten used to him wearing glasses and hats to hide the damage that the unforgiving flames had taken from him. 

Years later he was approached by a doctor who had told him that they had been looking for a candidate to do a face transplant. He immediately was on board but it was most risky:  there was a 50/50 chance of survival. They would have to wait for a perfect candidate and one day it happened. A younger man had been killed in an accident and his mother wanted his organs and yes his face to be used for good like her son had previously discussed with her. So the face transplant was a go. 

It took an entire day for this surgery and months of therapy for his facial muscles to help try and make facial expressions.

I can't help but find this a beautiful story. The man was so thankful for a new face. It wasn't perfect with issues of making facial expressions but he was so happy that he had ears, eye lids and a nose again, to not stand out in the crowd. His family was so incredibly happy for him as well.

I can't help but wonder how he sustained himself through such dark times, how his faith was truly tested. Yet through all of that, he had a family that stood by him. They loved, cared and nursed this man back to life. It wasn't just a face, but a feeling of being completely grateful for something that all of us could not even imagine. I can't help but feel inspired by this man and his story, and if I’m honest, a bit envious of the love from his family to help him endure. We should all be so lucky to have such love and bond to family. 

Life surely is too short to not appreciate something as simple as our very face and our expressions that come from it but ultimately start from the abyss deep within. Let us be thankful for all the things we have, even that which we perhaps don't even think of.  

Thankful,

John