Every day, I put on a medical necklace that contains my name, the medical condition I have (panhypopituitarism), and my main medications I’d need in case of an emergency. I slide it under my shirt. Then I put on another necklace that I wear outwardly. This necklace is a chain with a cross.
I’ve realized, though, that these two necklaces, so different from one another, have much more in common than I thought. I’ve never wanted the medical necklace to be displayed on the top of my shirt, because I don’t want others to define me by my diagnosis/disability. I’ve wanted them to see the cross, to understand that I am rooted in my faith, and to let that define me.
However, I’ve grown to see that maybe by seeing my medical necklace alongside the cross, others will realize that I could never have survived anything I’ve gone through without God. Both necklaces can show his goodness and grace, his love, as permanent deposits in our lives, even though they are such opposites. If instead of hiding my weakness, I proudly display it next to the cross, I am proclaiming, “But God…” I am proclaiming that I am broken, but God still uses me. I am shouting from the rooftops, that when I am weak, he is strong. After all, Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” After all, my medical necklace, is a symbol to show the world that although, “yes, I live with a debilitating condition, I’ve been through a lot”, and the cross necklace shows that “God is what got me through everything, that he chose me, and loves me.”
Perhaps the greatest way we can show the world God’s love and goodness, is not by hiding our imperfections, or our weakness, but by displaying them for all the world to see, so that they too, might realize that despite their shortcomings, that God wants them, and can still use them too.
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