Avoiding Illness

"Elliot, why don't you sit over there on the couch?"  I asked him, as I watched him try to squeeze into a chair next to his three year old sister, who wasn't having any part of sharing her seat.

"I can't sit there!"  He said.

I looked at the couch.  It was completely empty of occupants and I could see no pythons, wolverines, or other terrifying creatures lying in wait for unsuspecting sofa sitters.  "I think you probably can," I told him.

"No!"  He said.  "Vince was sitting there before supper and I don't want to catch what he has."

Vince has been sick, running a fever and just not feeling like himself.  Elliot, knowing that febrile illnesses are caused by germs, was trying to avoid them as much as possible, while still living in the same house as the diseased individual.  I could just imagine coming home from work the next day to find him making a pile of Vince's things to burn them, like they did with the toys at the end of the Velveteen Rabbit.

"I think," I said, in what I hoped was a rational sounding voice.  "If you want to avoid germs, probably the best way is to start washing your hands more regularly.  That seems to work pretty well to stop the spread of contagious illnesses.  How many times did you wash your hands today, Elliot?"

He was silent for a bit.  "I think once,"  he said, pretty honestly.  "After I fed the dog and cat, I know I washed them.  But washing hands is different.  It would take terribly much time to wash them all of the time.  I'd rather just stay away from germs."

Elliot clearly has some concept of the germ theory of disease.  He also has a fear of getting sick.  The problem is that the things he does to ward off illness -- things like not sitting in a seat his brother occupied a couple of hours before -- aren't nearly as helpful as just washing his hands.

There is no doubt that it is easier to prevent illness than to treat it after it happens.  At the same time, I see people all of the time who choose to not take care of their chronic illnesses, not get routine screening tests, and who avoid vaccinations who show up at my office asking me to help them with something that is far worse than it needed to be.

Of course I will do whatever I can to help them.  Although, I will often gently mention to someone running a 102 fever, "Maybe you should get a flu vaccine next year."

Far more important, Jesus has set out for us a pattern to live by.  Purity in thought and action, love in word and deed, and a focus on Him are all things that we are called to do and when we follow this path, we avoid all kinds of evil.  Our relationships with others are simply better when we choose to follow this simple path.

It isn't an easy road, but it is the most successful at warding off evil and bringing real joy into our lives and that's far more important than avoiding your brother's virus.

A Trip to New Orleans

"So, how was your vacation?"  My patient asked me.  "You don't look very tan.  Did Hurricane Michael keep you off the beach?"

I laughed a little.  "I was in New Orleans for a medical conference,"  I told the older lady.  "Hurricane Michael was fortunately pretty far east of us.  I guess it's hard to get tan from fluorescent lights and I was inside learning a chunk of the time I was there."

"Oh," she said, a little disappointed.  "I thought maybe you went somewhere interesting."

"New Orleans is pretty interesting," I said.  "But it was more about me learning things I didn't know before.  Don't I look smarter than the last time you saw me?"

"Not really," she said.  "But I'm glad if you learned a lot."

I generally go to some medical conference every year.  It isn't to meet people, to get a tan, or even to see the sights in different places, it is to sit through somewhat boring lectures and learn a few things that I can put into practice to help my patients.

Maybe I could get by without continuing medical education, but I know that over time, my patients would suffer.  I want to be the best doctor I can be for the sake of the people I serve.

In any arena of life we have the option of coasting by or of putting forth maximum effort.  Some things probably aren't very important -- it probably doesn't matter if you develop ultimate skill in buttering bread or brushing your teeth, but in most things it is better to do our best.

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might..." the writer of Ecclesiastes wrote many years ago.

He was right.  We will have so much more satisfaction and those around us will gain as well, if we do all things, as if we were working for the Lord.

Even if maybe our tans aren't the best.

A Googloplex

"Vince," Elliot said importantly.  "Do you know what 'de-zillion' is?"

"That's not a word,"  Vince said, a bit shortly, I thought.

"Yes, it is,"  Elliot said.  "It means ten years, doesn't it Dad?"

"I think you actually mean the word 'de-cade,'" I said.

"Oh,"  Elliot said and then paused a moment.  "I was really close to what it actually was."

I often find it interesting how my children use number to describe things.  A few months ago, when Elaine was experiencing severe back pain, Elliot was praying for her in our family worship.  "Please God," he said.  "Please help Mom feel a googolplex times better."

Apparently this is the biggest number that he knows and in the context of his prayer, it was a very kind thing to say.  Even though Elliot has no idea what a googolplex actually is, his Heavenly Father heard and knew exactly what he meant.

I have always thought that it is wonderful that God can understand what we mean, regardless of the words we use to say it.  He isn't impressed with our vocabulary or our grammar.  He doesn't struggle when we use words that aren't quite right for the situation.

Paul in Romans chapter 8 said "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with wordless groans.  And He who searches our heart knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God."

It is such a blessing that God hears our hearts cries and answers them, even when our words are stilted and broken. 

He reaches down and gives peace, healing, and leading through the darkest days.

Even to make a little boy's mother a googolplex times better.