Due to a series of unfortunate events, I found myself in an urgent care facility after work yesterday. After a brief examination from the doctor, she ordered an x-ray and sent me to another area of the medical office.

As I sat there, I engaged with a couple of other patients, but mostly, I watched the clock. I wanted to get out of there in a hurry. When the laboratory technician finally called my name, I was nervous and self-conscious. To take my mind off my issues, I focused on my surroundings. I saw the little nook where people disrobed. I saw the disinfectant wipes and gloves on the table. I saw the certification on the wall. That caught my eye.

“The Kansas State Board of Healing Arts” Healing Arts sounds like a class from Hogwarts, not a state licensing agency. I had to google it to make sure it was real. It sounds more like magic than medicine.

I tend to think of medicine as science. It is clinical. It is sterile. It is devoid of emotion and feeling. I think of art as evocative and messy. I never thought of medicine as art.

But medicine and healing are not the same thing. Medicine is what humans practice. We use science to attempt to “fix” the frailty of the human body.

But true healing isn’t something man or man-made machines can provide. Sure, medical professionals can serve as catalysts. But we know that true healing can be emotional, and it can be messy, and it can only come with the aid of the Artist/Creator.

I was feeling sorry for myself, until I noticed a few of the other patients. There was a woman whose foot was swollen to twice its size. There was another woman whose jaw was wired shut. She shared with me that as they were wiring her jaw shut, she had a heart attack. She was there for an EKG.

At that moment, I was no longer worrying about my minor issue. I became grateful for the miracles of modern medicine, and prayed immediately for divine healing for all of us.

My x-ray came back clear, and while I’m not completely healed, I know that my healing is on the way. I believe that the arts and sciences are intricately connected in ways we can never know. I am grateful for them both today.