Precarious Position

The health of missionaries has always been in a precarious position. William Borden of Yale stopped in Egypt to study Arabic on his way to work with Muslims in China. There he contracted spinal meningitis and died at the age of twenty-five. Then there are those who have put themselves in unhealthy environments over a period of years and have paid with broken health. Brave men and women have considered the cost and have been willing to pay this price. As for me when it comes to the health of our family, I don’t feel so brave and can find myself doing the unthinkable – worrying. Not much of a missionary, huh?

I remember the first time health was an issue for us here in Mexico. It was during the Christmas season and we were sitting in a lab waiting for the results of a friend who was very sick. Two naked bulbs lit the dingy concrete walls. The front door stood open to the dusty noisy street traffic only a few feet away. Worn out, broken down chairs littered the waiting room as the receptionist watched a small portable TV. The walk back to the lab itself was long…and dark. My mind began to wonder.

Later we had our own brush with health issues. When our son was diagnosed with giardia, e. coli, and e. histolytica, we felt relieved to know what was wrong but wondered what it all meant. The doctor recommended he take three different medicines. At home Diana researched them in a book entitled Where There Is No Doctor and we read, “…known to sometimes cause permanent paralysis, blindness, and even death. Do not use these dangerous medicines.” So what did we do? We gave him the medicine.

Now here we are sitting in the middle of a storm called the influenza A(N1H1) virus. Following the news…waiting……wondering. Wondering what will happen next. Wondering what it would mean if one of us did come down with it. Wondering if we have been idiots to put our family in this unhealthy situation in the first place.

If that isn’t complicated enough, I also have to live with myself and what I know. Knowing that God is in control. Knowing that all things work together for good to those who love Him. Knowing that we are safer in the storm with Him than outside of it without Him.

So what do we do now? Maybe we should pray. “Lord Jesus, we find ourselves in a precarious position and ask for Your mercy to our family, the Church and this country. Turn our wondering into trusting and our worry into worship. In Your Name we pray. Amen.”