Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Day 316 The Domain and Kingdom of Love


Dear friends,


David and I are doing Life Science together, working hard on classifying organisms in their domains, kingdoms, phylums and so on. I love this stuff, but I won't give you any more detail lest you look to this blog as a sleep aid. His lab today required that he use taxonomy (the system of classifying living things) to create a chart showing the relationships between various animals, insects and birds. Now most kids would simply put this thing in a pyramid type format, but not my child. He did the work correctly, but had to switch up the layout making it trickier to tell what category these critters fell into. There was still no doubt about their relationship with one another. But the pathway required a second look.

So of course this got me thinking metaphorically, and I thought about how I tend to classify people quickly without taking time to see their relationship to other people and the world they inhabit. I may meet someone and think "she's arrogant", or "he's standoffisch" (if my grammar friend is out there, help me with this word!). I may categorize someone as authoritative or religious or highly emotional. I hate when I do this. And I am in hot pursuit of a pure heart that leaves all judgement to God alone. In David's classification system, it requires one to look at things globally, taking into account the whole picture. In the real world, only the Great One can do that! I love what the book of John says about Jesus in John 2:25:

"He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man."

He's the only one that knows the whole story on anyone. My, the things you learn teaching 7th grade science!

We learned today that Smitty only has 3 more days of outpatient therapy at Sunnyview. From now on, any progress he makes will be on his own. And as we've always known, there are some permanent limitations that will require supernatural intervention or supernatural perseverance. Either way, we have alot to be thankful for. Those folks at Sunnyview are precious beyond words. A few of them will be at our Dessert Nite, and it will be an honor to be in the same room with them. I can't imagine how Stephen will feel when he walks out of that hospital for the last time. I remember the tears I shed leaving both times: when Hannah was discharged and later Hercules. I categorize Sunnyview's people in the Domain of Amazing, The Kingdom of Tenacious and the Phylum of Positive. That kind of taxonomy is based on fact and evidence. Amen.

I found one of the surgical residents who helped Smitty in the SICU while I was working at the hospital tonite. No kidding when I tell you I prayed specifically months ago to find Dr. Mike, because I remember his kind face from the Surgical Intensive Care Unit when I could barely breathe. But I couldn't for the life of me remember his name. Tonite he walked by my desk, and he smiled from ear to ear to hear all the good news I had to tell. He's passing some invitations to the other surgical residents who took care of Stephen, and he himself hopes to come (if he's recovered from his own hernia surgery). God really does hear even our little prayers.

Hope you like the picture of David with his unorthodox chart. May we all be so flexible!

Your friend on the pilgrim road,

Loriann

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