I’ve made some changes to our schedule in Life Science for this coming year. We’ll learn about cells, fungi, plants, and animals as we have in the past, but for this year, I’ve set aside more time for learning about the human body in our spring semester.  

Part of the reason I’m prioritizing anatomy is simply practical: learning about our bodies equips us to be good stewards of our health. Another part of my rationale is that the complexity of the human body is, in the words of one of my former professors, “simply elegant.” 

From the endless, rhythmic beating of our hearts ensuring oxygen delivery every minute of our lives to the quiet, underappreciated work of our kidneys balancing salt and water for homeostasis, our bodies are perpetually abuzz with the activity of life. Our health is maintained by a symphony of harmoniously balanced and largely under-appreciated functions. Among the those, I’m particularly eager to share the topic of healing with my students this year. 

As Christians, we may find healing a common, if not daily, topic of prayer. Scripture and Church tradition alike abound with miraculous healings that demonstrate God’s mercy and draw our hearts to His glory. Yet while we ascribe healing to God’s hand when the circumstances are astounding, we often miss the just-as-present fingerprint of God in the everyday healing that sustains our earthly life. 

Healing, from injury, illness, or inflammation, is not the exception, but rather the rule – God's design from the beginning. God wrote healing into our DNA, carried by every cell in every human body. It’s written not only once, like a "restoration protocol” for dire circumstances, but as an intrinsic part of how every organ and every tissue function.  

Consider my daughter’s finger, broken at camp this summer. The moment the bone broke, tiny capillaries were disrupted, leaking blood cells into the area. While the resultant bruising and swelling were uncomfortable, they signified the arrival of white blood cells like macrophages and neutrophils as well as platelets. Together, these form the hematoma clot to control bleeding, begin clearing out old tissue, and release chemical signals called cytokines that draw more cell types to the site. Fibroblasts arrive, laying down collagen to strengthen and stabilize the tissues, while endothelial cells begin rebuilding the delicate network of blood vessels to supply the healing bone. Cartilage is laid down and eventually, with the work of bone-building osteoblasts, replaced by a mineralized bony matrix for long-term strength.  

Two months later, my daughter is back to playing cello without a second thought to the finger fractured just weeks ago. Similar processes unfold when skin, brain, and other organs recover from injury and infection. Dozens of cell types, their roles written into our genes, each play a specific part in restoring our health in the face of injury.  

The miraculous rightfully catches our attention, but may we also not miss truth written in the minute. In his mercy, healing has always been in God’s design. It’s in our genes.