Dear Tom:
I speculated that the first organ transplant was in the 1960’s until I read the following:
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26.
God has been performing transplants long before the 60’s. Now that I think about it, for centuries there have been major transformations in the hearts of men and women. Saul on the road to Damascus had his heart replaced. Moses sent plagues to soften the heart of Pharaoh, only to have it harden again after he let the Israelites go. (His anti-rejection meds didn’t work apparently). We pray often that someone will have “a change of heart;” that God will mend our “broken heart;” or that our hearts “will be open.” Mitch Albom in his book have a little faith says, “ when the world quiets to the sound of your own breathing, we all want the same things: comfort, love, and a peaceful heart.”
The Sufis say consider one’s heart a garden in which everything you need is growing. They use this organic image of a garden to communicate the wisdom of containment. Within the boundaries of our unique garden we determine what projects, work, or relationships will truly help us grow in our life. Just as there are ecological limits to what the earth can provide, there are limits to material growth and expansion in our own lives. We work within those limits and nurture the beauty in each and every one of us.
Your Friend,
Webb
Lovely.