Mohler, the 47-year-old president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, suffered life-threatening pulmonary emboli following surgery in December. He talked about recovery and lessons learned.
What’s the latest report on your health? I’m on blood-thinning medication to prevent the formation of a deadly clot. But the good news is I’m feeling well, gaining strength, and just extremely thankful to be where I am right now.
What did this experience teach you? I’m thankful that I went into this with a very firm faith and with a theology that begins with the sovereignty of a loving God. I did not have to wonder if I was simply lost in the cosmos experiencing a medical crisis.
The thing that amazed me the most was how I had a very hard time thinking as I normally would. Especially in the intensive care unit, I would try to pray but could not get words and thoughts to line up. The body really can kind of overrule the mind at times. At a deeper level, I was calmed and comforted by verses like Romans 8:26—the Holy Spirit knows how to pray for me better than I know how to pray for myself and is interceding with groanings too deep for words. Even when my words don’t work, I am not alone or helpless.
What kind of lifestyle changes have you made? It was probably a healthy thing to have life come to a complete standstill in terms of what I thought I was supposed to do and be about. I was basically knocked out of travel. I’ve only had one trip since the surgery. That trip was for denominational responsibilities.
Were any of the problems related to a stressful lifestyle? No. Some people assume they were, because they think they know my lifestyle. The root of all of this was a congenital defect in my intestinal system.
So for the long term, do you expect you’ll get back to all your writing and speaking commitments? Yes. I expect being back to all of them, but in the right time.
Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
Albert Mohler wrote about his medical emergency in “Lessons Learned in a Crisis of Life.”
He maintains a blog, with links to his radio program, sermons and speeches, articles, and biography.
Mohler is president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Christianity Today articles that Mohler appears in include:
Young, Restless, Reformed | Calvinism is making a comeback—and shaking up the church. (September 22, 2006)
A Kinder, Gentler Conservatism | New Southern Baptist leader promises broader involvement. (June 26, 2006)
