SpiriseBible
Instruments of Healing
Dr. Williams's Surgery from Success to Surrender
Dr. Sarah Williams, MD
Former Cardiac Surgeon, Current Medical Missions Director
"For 15 years, I repaired hearts in the OR. Now I help the Great Physician heal hearts in the mission field."
Age 12, watching my grandfather die from a heart attack, I made a vow: "I'll learn to fix hearts so no one else has to watch their grandfather die." Fifteen years later, I was one of the youngest cardiac surgeons in the country.
Medical Journey: From Student to Surgeon
Pre-Med Excellence
Harvard University, magna cum laude. 4.0 GPA, perfect MCAT. Medicine was my religion.
Medical School Top 1%
Johns Hopkins MD. Graduated first in class. Alpha Omega Alpha honor society.
Surgical Residency
Mayo Clinic general surgery. 100-hour weeks, unshakeable hands, iron will.
Cardiac Fellowship
Cleveland Clinic cardiothoracic surgery. Youngest fellow ever accepted. Living the dream.
By 32, I was performing 300+ heart surgeries annually, earning $800K, and being hailed as a miracle worker. Patients called me their "angel of mercy." The irony was devastating—I was supposedly healing hearts while my own was stone cold.
Medical success intoxicated me. Every successful surgery fed my ego. Every life saved proved my worth. But saving lives became about proving myself, not loving people.
Case #847 - September 15, 2019
Triple bypass, 67-year-old teacher. Flawless execution, textbook recovery. Patient's gratitude meant nothing—only perfection mattered.
Case #923 - December 3, 2019
Emergency valve replacement, young mother of three. Surgery successful, but complications arose. Lost her at 3 AM. Felt more anger at imperfection than grief for family.
Personal Note - January 1, 2020
New Year's resolution: 350 surgeries this year, zero mistakes. Realized I'm treating patients like problems to solve, not people to love.
The Surgery That Broke Me
March 10, 2020. Emergency surgery: 7-year-old girl, congenital heart defect. Parents drove 400 miles. "Doctor, you're our only hope." Surgery lasted 9 hours. Technical perfection. But she died on the table.
I'd never lost a child. Her parents collapsed. Father screaming: "You promised! You said you could fix her!" Mother whispering: "Emma's with Jesus now." Her faith in the face of my failure shattered something in me.
"That night, I stood in the OR where Emma died and realized: I'd spent 15 years trying to play God. But I couldn't save a seven-year-old. I wasn't a miracle worker—I was just skilled hands with a broken heart."
The Great Physician's Touch
Three months of depression. Couldn't operate. Couldn't sleep. Emma's parents sent a card: "Dr. Williams, Emma loved you. We're praying for you. God uses even broken instruments for healing."
That card led me to their church. That Sunday, I met the only Surgeon who's never lost a patient.
Pastor Brown was a former ER doctor. "Sarah, you've been operating with skill but not soul. Jesus wants to heal through you, not just use your hands. He's the surgeon—you're the instrument."
From OR to Mission Field
Spiritual Surgery
Surrendered my career pride to Christ. Realized I needed heart surgery—spiritual heart surgery.
Mission Training
Enrolled in medical missions program. Learned cross-cultural medicine, tropical diseases, resource-limited surgery.
Short-Term Trips
First mission to Guatemala. Operated in conditions that would horrify American hospitals. Saved more lives than ever.
Full-Time Missions
Left $800K salary for $35K stipend. Now serving where surgery isn't just medicine—it's ministry.
Operating Where Others Won't
Seven years serving in countries where basic medical care is luxury. My surgical skills now serve the poorest of the poor, where every operation is both medical procedure and gospel demonstration.
Healing Beyond the Scalpel
Medical Excellence
Performing life-saving surgeries in resource-limited settings. Innovation through limitation.
Compassionate Care
Every patient is Christ in disguise. Surgery becomes sacrament, healing becomes holy.
Training Local Doctors
Teaching surgical techniques to local physicians. Multiplying healing through education.
Hospital Chaplaincy
Praying with patients, counseling families, sharing hope in hopeless diagnoses.
"And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness..."
- Matthew 4:23 (KJV)
Jesus modeled it: healing bodies opens hearts to hear about souls.
7 Years of Mission Surgery - Global Impact
To Fellow Medical Professionals
You chose medicine to heal people. But have you considered that your medical training is also spiritual preparation? Your skill with scalpels, your knowledge of anatomy, your calm under pressure—these aren't just professional assets. They're kingdom qualifications.
The world has plenty of excellent doctors. But it desperately needs excellent doctors who understand that healing bodies can heal souls. Who see surgery as more than procedure—as prayer in action.
Medical missions need: surgeons, internal medicine doctors, pediatricians, anesthesiologists, nurses, technicians. Every medical specialty is needed in fields where trained hands can mean the difference between life and death—temporally and eternally.
- Your surgical skills could save lives without access to care
- Your diagnostic ability could detect preventable diseases
- Your medical training could teach local healthcare workers
- Your healer's heart could demonstrate Christ's compassion
You became a doctor to heal. The Great Physician wants to heal through you.
Yesterday's Miracle
Rural Kenya: 5-year-old boy, massive heart defect. Local doctors said "impossible." Parents sold everything to bring him to our mission hospital. No cardiac catheterization lab, basic equipment, but God's guidance.
Eight-hour surgery with instruments that would be obsolete in American hospitals. But God's hands guided mine. Perfect repair. Boy's first words after waking: "Mama, angels helped doctor fix my heart!"
"In American ORs, I had every tool except the most important one—faith. In mission ORs, I have the most important tool and trust God for the rest."
Healer's Prayer
"Great Physician, You see the medical professional reading this. You gave them minds to learn, hands to heal, hearts to care. Show them how their calling could serve Your kingdom. Whether in American hospitals or African clinics, help them heal for Your glory. Guide their hands, bless their skills, and use their compassion to point patients to the ultimate healing found in You. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Today, I'm preparing for surgery in a mission hospital with equipment that would horrify my former colleagues. But I've never been more confident in the OR. Not because of my skills—because of my Supervisor.
My diplomas hang on mud walls. My surgical instruments are shared with other doctors. My salary is 1/20th what I once earned. But my purpose is 100 times clearer.
Emma's death taught me that even the best surgeons can't save everyone. But Jesus can save anyone. I'm just privileged to be His instrument.
God is looking for healers who understand that the most important surgery happens in hearts, not operating rooms.
