In every parent's nightmare, they have probably dreamed up this scenario. A very young, inquisitive boy reaches into a drawer in the kitchen. Before anyone knew what was going on, he grabs the scissors. Somehow in the short few seconds, there was an accident where the scissors punctured his face and eye. By the time anyone could catch anything, there was blood everywhere and the little guy was laying on the ground.
At the hospital, they hear really awful news--the scissors affected his retina and his eye leaked a lot of fluid. There is a chance for blindness in the eye with the retina attempting to detach. Surgery is performed to "weigh" the retina down and keep it from trying to remove itself. Also, they are informed that the other eye may begin to become "sympathetic" and attempt to lose vision as well. Nothing for certain will be known for several days. And so begins the waiting period...
After lots of prayer, doctors visits, time spent at the hospital, tons of medication and eye drops, double-casts on both arms, extremely limited movement, and a few surgeries...he is doing wonderfully. He now wears glasses and has a very tiny scar on his cheek. Otherwise, the doctors are in amazement that his retina has held in place and his vision is just fine. He can now return to being a little boy again.
However, thinking about all of this as it was going on, there was something that struck me...
I'm totally not a doctor and know very little about the medical field (blood makes me squeamish), but it seems soooo weird to me that the retina had to be forced NOT to detach. Our bodies are created with such natural healing qualities. If we burn our tongues and lose a few taste buds, soon enough we'll have new ones to replace them. If we get a sunburn and our skin begins to peel, the new layer will be exposed and our skin will heal. If we get an illness, the agents in our body do their best to fight it off and return us back to normal. Yet, in this situation, the body seemed to be the enemy--the one rebelling against the healing process.
The doctor had to go in and physically keep the retina from responding in a way that was not most helpful to the eye. On the other hand, the retina was just doing what it was made to do. When there was stress/injury/destruction, it will respond by detaching.
As a person with a background in counseling, I realized that we as humans, do this ALL THE TIME. We respond in ways that are "natural" to us, but aren't always the most "beneficial." For example, personally, when I feel threatened or attacked in a conflict, I will respond just like the retina--I detach. However, that isn't always the most appropriate or helpful response. For healthy conflict to occur, you have to engage and see it through to the end. Ultimately, that is how you can learn and grow from the process.
We see this happen all around us. Push comes to shove. We're placed in awkward situations. We find ourselves uncomfortable, in pain, or injured. What do we do? We respond out of our natural inclinations. We put walls up. We back off. Or we push away. The list goes on. There are so many ways in which we initially feel compelled to act. Yet, we have to ask, "is this what is most healthy in the long run?" It may feel like the right thing to do for the moment, but ultimately, just like the retina, will we be losing something?
Fortunately, in my boss' situation, her little boy is doing wonderfully. God answered a lot of prayers and the intervention has worked. How about for us? What will keep us from hitting those "blind spots" and responding in the ways that we have always done? Will we recognize that "natural" isn't always most "healthy?"
Will we choose to do something different?
