There's a tightening in your chest. Your heart is racing. The room is spinning and you clutch your chest feverishly. You've never felt pressure like this before. The person closest to you dials 9-1-1. You pass out.
A few seconds later, you return to your consciousness only to see a strange face over yours. A bright white light shines ahead. Your vision becomes clearer and you realize that you're strapped to a gurney in the back of an ambulance. You raise your head but the EMT immediately tells you to completely relax. You're not sure exactly what is happening. But whatever it is can't be good.
The doctors and nurses rush you into the operating room. Next thing you know, you're counting back from 100 while the doctors put you under anesthesia. The doctor's prognosis is not good. You need open heart surgery.
What caused the incredible pain that you felt before? He tells you that you were overtaxed from stress. "Good thing you came in when you did. You were seconds from death. Your former physician was negligent. You were in rough hands. Not to worry though, you're in Practiced Hands now. I'll take good care of you. You'll be back on your feet in no time" the Physician assures you. He walks out of the room and you're left there in recovery.
How many of us have been in rough and negligent hands lately? Who do you entrust your emotional, psychological and spiritual health to? Are you in need of open heart surgery?
In our society, we self-medicate with our sorts of illicit activities and substances. Some people pop Valiums and Xanax like they're Tic Tac's. Other people use sex, alcohol and recreational drugs to deal with some form of internal bleeding otherwise known as pain. At the end of the day, everyone is dealing with some sort of pain, shame or disappointment. You can be assured that everyone you meet has been in rough hands. We've allowed ex lovers, friends, enemies and nameless others deal with our hearts in a way that only professionals should.
We feel safe to make ourselves emotionally vulnerable to all sorts of novices and questionable characters but we'll be hesitant to give it over to God. When we finally do decide to forfeit the fight and turn to Him, we're on the verge of death. Miraculously, we arrive in His ER at the right time and He brings us back to life. He conducts emergency open heart surgery to fix the problem. But like regular surgery, the healing process is long and uncomfortable. We sit in the hospital for days incapacitated. God comes in and checks our vitals and gives us all that we need to continue. How did we get to the ER in the first place though? What brought us there?
Human relationships are nebulous things. A friend of mine recently said that "A relationship with the right person feel amazing. But, a relationship with the wrong person feels like a punishment." How right he is. When we deal with flawed, selfish, and incomplete people, we open ourselves up to a world of trouble. The Bible says: "Guard your heart with all diligence for out of springs the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23. We allow ourselves and other people to be reckless with our hearts. It's as if we're handing the scalpel over to someone who didn't graduate from high school and asking them to put a stint in our hearts when we love the wrong person.
It doesn't make sense to do something like that when you think about it; but, that's exactly what people do. We fall in love, like, or embark on a friendship with a person without checking his or her credentials first. Then, when they do more damage than we thought humanely possible, we want to blame them for our broken hearts. Really, we should blame ourselves. It's our fault for trusting in a mere mortal to be completely careful with the most intimate parts of our feelings. They didn't break your heart. You gave them an opportunity to hurt you when they had no business near you with sharp objects. Now you're all cut up, jaded and broken because you didn't think to
love responsibly. You need to rush to the ER and get open heart surgery by the Practiced Physician.
Have you been in rough hands? Have you allowed a random stranger the right to roam around in your fantasies and play with your feelings? Do you need open heart surgery to right what's been wronged?
Recommend
Comments (8)
It is incredibly easy to fall in with anyone. You're going along and you're having a tough time and someone pops into your life. It's easy to open up to them when no one else seems to be listening even when they turn out to be a terrible person to be open to.
I do that sometimes and suffer because of it. It shouldn't stop you from being friends with people, but it should make you more cautious as to how much of yourself you give away. :0)It's important to, as you say, realize it is your responsibility. It is also important not to look down on the person who came near you with sharp objects because they served to reconsider your own life and look for solutions. It's interesting that even in the workplace there are people we simply can't stand when everyone else seems to love that very person. The quickest way to resolve that situation is to pray for that person's happiness. There is some history to why we can't stand someone even if you only first met the person this morning.
@ccarothers@xanga - Agreed. When you're going through the tough times it gets so easy to fall prey to these things!
@TheSutraDude@xanga - My favorite part of your response: "There is some history to why we can't stand someone even if you only first met the person this morning." That is SOO true. And I sometimes feel like a jerk when I simply can't tolerate the one in the office that everyone loves. It bugs me out!
@EBailey - It bugs me out too. It is amazing that if I actually take the time to prayer or wishful think for that person's happiness that things change. It might not happen the next day nor over time not have it's ups and downs but we are sensitive to each other. Even before a job interview, a situation in which you've not yet the person, you walk into their office and there is something they like about you before you open your mouth. It doesn't mean you'll get the job but whatever goes on during the interview there is something in you that you feel for the interviewer because you prayed for that person's happiness and somewhere in their life they pick up on it. It's organic really.
Oh and an important part of this is it's actually better for myself. Rather than cursing the person who didn't hire me I can feel inside that I do hope they are happy in their life in general and further, it probably wasn't the right job for me but I don't have to feel angry or upset about the rejection.
@TheSutraDude@xanga - Wow. What a philosophy. I think you've mentioned something about Buddhism before too right? I love Buddhist philosophy. It's all about patience and compassion and forgiveness. Ultimately great fundamental values that are important for Christians as well. I emailed my pastor and he and I are working on leading a small group about being Christian in the workplace. I think it's soooo necessary...That's amazing. I'm going to start doing this. Thanks so much! I appreciate it.
@EBailey - That sounds awesome. Good luck with the project!
One thing to consider about religion in the workplace. In the end it's up to you of course. I worked for a major corporation in NYC. When I was hired I went through a 3 day orientation. One thing that was expressed very strongly is that we were forbidden from discussion of sex, sexual innuendo or flirting, discussion of politics, and discussion of religion or philosophy in the workplace. As the reasoning behind this was explained it made a lot of sense. Of course the reasons for staying away from sex in the workplace are obvious so I'll lump politics and religion together. Imagine you are Christian and so is your manager but two of your coworkers are Jewish. Next imagine your manager learns of the religious faith of all three of you and you are the one who gets the biggest raises and the big promotion. You may well have deserved them but all too easily suspicion of favoritism can likely come up between your coworkers and suddenly the workplace takes on an air bad feelings. It's the same potential with political affiliation. One thing about sexual innuendo just to drive home the overall point: Everyone was told not to given shoulder rubs or even hugs in the workplace as this might also cause suspicion among other employees of favoritism.
@TheSutraDude - I can't explain why on an open forum like this but know that God just spoke to me through you....