Someone You Think You Know
I had a Deja Vu moment. In a class that I’m taking, I noticed that there are three students that I’ve been in classes with before and two that I made a mental note that I wanted to introduce myself to (they are auditors such as myself who have complimentary health care work experience to mine - one was a healthcare lobbyist in Congress and the other was a hospital administrator.)
Yesterday, class had just started when two people walked in. One was a regular student that I seen from the first class. The second was an obvious auditor and he looked very familiar. I knew that I hadn’t seen him for a long time and his physical appearance was slightly changed. He was wearing glasses that darken outside and they hadn’t changed to be clear. I caught myself turning around several times to look at him to try to figure out who he was.
We were talking about one of the assigned articles about how diseases are defined (it’s a trick question in that it is much more complicated than you are likely thinking). Anyway, the new guy spoke to his experience (when the disease had just started becoming talked about) in the Army dealing with AIDs with a group of people (at that time) that shouldn’t have had any incidence of the disease. Then it hit me, I knew who he was (is?).
He was (is?) a physician that I used to see regularly over a decade before. I remembered that when I saw him, he was just slightly older than I was and, at the time, we were both dealing with elderly family that was experiencing the unfortunate challenges of aging. During that era, I was seeing two different physicians for the same chronic conditions (recurrent sinus infections) and trying to decide whether I could trim my doctor visits to one or the other.
That’s when I got a letter from the hospital explaining that he had left their employment and they scheduled me with a new doctor. My dilemma was solved in that I cancelled that appointment and never scheduled with the new doctor that I hadn’t met.
I knew that the doctor I’d been seeing had family on the east coast and assumed that he decided to move there to take care of her. I have to admit after seeing him yesterday, I spend more than a fleeting moment trying to figure out a way to ask him why he left Stormont only to decide that it wasn’t any of my business. As I was pondering this, the story of Saul came to my mind.
“When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.” So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.” The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?” But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.” The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage. Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.” - 1 Samuel 28:5-19 ESV
I’m a very curious person and desire to know everything. I must remind myself both with people in this world and especially with God that I don’t need to know or understand everything. Sometimes faith is more important than knowing.
