The Nice, The Important, The Necessary

If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.

1 Corinthians 13:2,3

A man just died. On my watch. A young man, all of 25 years, and with his life before him. He was suffering from a rapidly-deteriorating liver disease when he came to the hospital and I did everything I could think of to help him. It is a busy day but I've tried to remain on top of my game and I thought I was doing well enough. But then he died, and only at the moment of his demise did I realize something - I had failed to measure his blood sugar. I had thought of it but had relegated it as less important in the light of his emergency but now, in retrospect, it seems all important. The most distressing thought of all is that I don't know and will never know his blood sugar. That little piece of information would have cost little and could well have saved his life.

Could have … but not now. Not ever. The uncertainty is eating at me...

We all have regrets, hopefully yours are not a matter of life and death. Truth is you can probably think of one earth-shattering mistake, some wrong decision that went a long way to determine your, or someone else's, life. And there's nothing that gnaws at your spirit so much as the feeling that comes with not knowing what could have been. It's a torture of humanity that we can scarce escape since we are faced with decisions every day of our lives, choices that determine the course we will take and the consequences we will face.

Regrets are a part of life, but whatever you regret, you will be fine, so long as you do not regret the things that matter. Things like family, love and God. Perhaps, like me, you are keeping yourself busy with the nice and important things to the neglect of the necessary things. Did you get that?

One man of God said recently, some things are nice; they can be done. Some things are important; they should be done. Some things are necessary; they must be done. My dad says the good is often the enemy of the best. Can you see how perhaps the nice things are keeping you from doing the important things and the important things could stop you from doing the necessary things? Go ahead and regret not indulging in the nice things. Chew your fingers a little for not doing the important. But never, ever, regret missing out on the necessary things. And I think you know which things I am talking about … faith, hope, love.

With love, Doosuur.

One of Them Days

I have traveled many weary miles. I have faced danger from … robbers … I have lived with weariness and pain and sleepless nights … Often I have shivered with cold … If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.

2 Corinthians 11:26,27,30

You know those days when it seems all but the worst has happened … and then the worst happens? When it seems it's just you against the world? You've passed through several by now, no doubt and I'm sure you recognize them pretty early on. If you don't, let me help you.

You know you're having one of 'em days when ...

… you wake up 30 minutes earlier than usual and realize it is September the 22nd

… you remember in the same thought, you've got to go pick dad from Abuja Airport and

… it's your friend Mike's wedding day, so you think

… I've got to be snappy because if I miss his day,

Mike's going to kill me.

And so...

… you go to the bathroom and turn the faucet but cold water gushes out

… you wonder why you switched off the water heater last night

… you manage a quick shower and dress up but

… you cannot find the car documents

… and when you start the car, the tank is empty

… but thankfully a petrol attendant is awake and you think

… perhaps I can make it to Abuja and back,

So Mike won't have to kill me.

But then…

… dad's plane is 20 minutes late

… dad's luggage is 45 minutes later

… a Mack truck carrying a huge earth-mover rams into the vehicle behind you

… it takes the grace of God and quick reflexes and you escape by the skin of your teeth,

… and it's just noon, so you think

… Mike should have seen this,

Perhaps Mike will let me live.

Now wait a minute because …

… the tire blows out

… the tire jack is too tall

… the spare is bad and you can only wobble along at 30kph

… the next town is Keffi

… again, the next town is Keffi

… you wonder why they bother calling it a town anyhow

… you have no money!!!

… it is Saturday and the young men who's help you seek have never heard of an ATM machine

… Diamond Bank shows up from nowhere, the ATM actually works!

… the tire is fixed but you are 2 hours behind schedule and now you know,

Mike is going to kill me.

So…

… you make it home

… you are grateful you are in one piece

… a phone call confirms you are too late, but yet

… you thank God that at least you still have life

… but that may not matter in a little while because …

… Mike is definitely going to kill me.

With love, Doosuur

Flat-faced on the Floor

Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again…

Proverbs 24:16

Don't you just hate it when your piece of toast falls to the kitchen floor with the buttered side down? It happened to me yesterday morning. This time it was my favorite toothbrush, facedown on the bathroom floor. Yuk!!! Well I had to brush my teeth so I did the logical thing...

It has happened to you too. Remember that time many Christmases ago when you were running in the yard with that savory piece of fried goat that aunty had just given you? You hit your foot against a rock and were sent sprawling along the ground, your cherished piece of meat flying out of your hand and hitting the dirt. I saw you when you picked it up, completely unconcerned that you had soiled your Christmas best. You dusted it off and popped it into your mouth, savoring the sweet juices. Don't worry, I would have done the same thing (or perhaps I have done!)

And I'm thinking that perhaps we sometimes feel like that piece of toast, that yellow toothbrush, that cube of fried meat. We are like that when we soil ourselves in the dirt, when we wallow in our sin, unconcerned that Someone cared enough for us to butter us, to lather us, to hold us carefully in his hands. But then all of a sudden we realize what has happened and how far we have fallen and we long again for His touch.

We lie forlorn, helpless and hopeless on the floor, wondering if He would bother once again to pick us up. After all this is not the first time, not the second time, not the third time either. We would be forgiven for thinking we had exhausted grace and He had run out of mercy.

But thank God we are not God. Each time, every time, He picks us up, dusts us off and savors us once again. And then He makes us right, crediting our account with His own righteousness (Romans 4:24). We may have to endure a few slaps of His hand as He shakes the dust free of us but just the touch of His finger is healing enough. We are never too far gone, never down and out, never too dirty to be picked up, cleaned and brought back home. Like the Prodigal son, let us come to our senses, pick up our baggages and go back home. The Father is waiting.

With love, Doosuur.

What Do You See?

What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see." … Immediately he received his sight…

Mark 10:51,52

What do you see? I mean, really? We're all looking at the same things every day but chances are what each of us sees is very different from the next person.

When I was a house officer, an intern at the teaching hospital, I saw veins. Lots and lots of veins. My job description involved, to a large extent, taking blood samples from patients, and like a rapacious leech, when I saw someone, my eyes would track downwards ever so subtly to their arms, looking for the biggest, juiciest vessels suitable for bloodletting. Now, as an aspiring clinician, when I see people I'm always on the look out for "signs" - white nails, yellow eyes, lilting gaits - anything that would suggest a disease process. But then it's not just me.

When I'm with Flensted or Shola, they always seem to see buildings and structures. They are always talking with great gusto about what is wrong with the architecture of this residence or that high rise and on the rare occasion tipping their hats in honor of some builder's exploits. Can't blame them though - they're architects.

And then there is Austine. He sees poles. I don't know how he does it, but he's constantly analyzing sizes, heights and construction of telephone poles, pylons and electrical lines along the highway. And he doesn't get tired, not once.

But let us not forget mom. Like the good mother she is, she's always doing a mental cleanup when she's around me, picking up clothes, rearranging papers and digging up the weed patch, all with her eyes. I don't seem to notice how unkempt my surroundings are until she comes around. She sees things that I don't.

Can you remember when Jesus asked someone this same question, "What do you see?" In Mark 8 he was talking to a blind man at Bethsaida and he had just spit into the man's eyes. The man answered, "I see people; they look like trees walking around." But after a second touch from the Lord the Bible says he "saw everything in bright, twenty-twenty focus".

So I ask you again, what do you see? When we look at people, do we see them hurting and lost and in need of a friend? Do we see the pain of unfulfilled desires and the distress of unsolicited trouble? Let me show you what Jesus saw when he looked at people. "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:36)

If only we would open our eyes to the world around us, perhaps we would begin to see the sorry state of our world. There really are people in need around us, people we could genuinely help. So why not go ahead and ask Jesus to open your eyes. It may take a little spit in the eyes, but then, that never hurt nobody.

With love, Doosuur.