Today we’re celebrating Witt’s 7th birthday and thinking about what a blessing his life has been. Two things stand out about Witt’s life so far. First, it has been obvious from his birth that the hand of God has been on Witt. Second, while Witt is only seven years old and often seems distracted and in his own world he is wise beyond his years and often surprises us with a level of understanding about things that blows us away.
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26
The Hand of God in Witt’s Life
Witt was born with a broken heart – a heart clinically broken and incapable of sustaining life. Even with all of the medical advances over the last thirty years Witt’s heart couldn’t be fixed. There was no medication or surgery that would restore Witt’s heart and save his life. Witt needed something that no medical professional could provide – a miracle. Had Witt been born thirty years earlier his story would have ended there. But on June 9, 1984, doctors at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center performed the first successful pediatric heart transplant – successfully replacing James Lovette’s hopelessly broken heart with a heart generously given by a child who had passed away from injuries received from a fall at his home. It was through this miraculous and amazing gift – the gift of a new heart – that James was able to live into early adulthood. It was through this generous and life giving gift that his parents were able to see him graduate college with a Master’s degree and begin his studies in medical school.
At five months old Witt was given a hope filled, life giving, generous gift of an amazing new heart. Witt’s new heart has allowed him to live abundantly. Some may question why God would allow such a tragic sequence of events. They may question why God would allow a boy to be born with a broken heart. They may not understand why God would use the death of a child and the process of organ donation as the means to “cure” a child like Witt. I understand those questions and doubts and have struggled with them myself for seven years now. But I have also seen how God has used Witt and his story to touch the lives of many people and to do wonderful work for His kingdom. I’ve come to understand the Gospel and believe that this life on earth isn’t all that there is. I’ve come to believe that organ donation is in some way symbolic of Jesus’ selfless sacrifice on the cross for all of mankind.
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. Ezekiel 37:1
Wise Beyond His Years
Today, at seven years old, I don’t think Witt understands the totality of his story but he does realize that without his new heart he would not be here today. He also understands that God has had his hand on him since he was born. From an early age Witt was always very curious about God and the bible. Over the last year Witt has asked a lot of questions and we’ve had many talks about God, creation, sin, Jesus, grace, and the crucifixion and resurrection. While I was very happy that Witt was asking these questions I didn’t really think that his little 6-year old mind was grasping the magnitude of the Gospel. And then a few weeks ago as we stood in the church lobby chatting with friends Witt wandered off and found Pastor Matt. I noticed him standing before Matt patiently waiting for Matt to finish his conversation. Curiously I wondered what Witt was up to. It was not like him to approach an adult like that. Then as Matt finished his conversation he looked down at Witt and said, “What’s up Witt”. Eagerly Witt asked, “Will you baptize me please”. I approached and overheard Matt tell Witt that he would love to talk with him about baptism. A week later, Alison, Witt, and I sat down with Pastor Matt to see if Witt truly understood what it meant to be baptized and if he was ready to give his life over to Christ. Over our conversation with Matt, Witt amazed us with his understanding of sin, the sinful nature of our hearts, how we need a savior, and how Jesus came as our savior to atone for our sins that day on the cross. By the end of our meeting we all agreed that Witt had an understanding beyond his years and was ready to be baptized. A few weeks earlier his Mimi had decided that she would like to be baptized and had already arranged to be baptized on Easter Sunday. So it seemed fitting that Witt would be baptized on Easter Sunday as well.
So it is with great joy that we invite all of you to witness the baptism of Witt Deane and Kathryn Johnston Easter Sunday (April 16) at 9:30am at The Church at West Franklin.
I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart. Jeremiah 24:7
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