The healing aspects of biblical letters: A personal perspective

Abstract

The Bible was written and interpreted in a context, but is timeless and powerful in offering us wisdom and hope. In times of suffering, we can experience the therapeutic nature of the Bible in offering us strength and promise. I revisited my personal experience of my son suffering from a rare under-reported genetic disease in relation to my churchmate's unconditional regard for me, demonstrated through biblical letters during the 3 months following my son's diagnosis. The first letter will be shown and a discussion presented according to four themes: (a) helpful events while writing and reading the letter; (b) serving as a means of womanly social support; (c) being a way of reciprocal helping; and (d) adopting a perspective of strength while getting closer to God. This article ends by highlighting the importance of biblical letters as a means of counseling and as a prayer for God's love.

Keywords:

• Bible
• counseling
• genetic disease
• helping
• Hong Kong

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr Vincent Y. W. Lee for his expert treatment for my son. Dr Lee demonstrates how a professional and caring healthcare provider should be. He serves for the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. I thank my churchmates for unconditional love and support. Finally, I wish to thank the Editor and the reviewers of JPT for their constructive comments for revision.