Looking for that One

   I was watching a movie today about a military doctor who was assigned a patient with severe dental and lip deformities, as a result of a terrible automobile accident. The surgeon took extraordinary measures to assist his patient, and spent multiplied hours planning the initial and subsequent operations that would be necessary to correct her deformities. Never in his life had the physician devoted such caring effort or taken his responsibility so much to heart.
 

    And though his patient was gruesome to behold, and though her injuries were the worst he’d ever seen, he painstakingly went about his task. And for those several months and years he assumed a duel role; that of physician and prophet. For he could see the invisible as though it were visible. And that energized him during periods of his own disappointment and his patient’s disbelief.

     Oh, yes, the little patient often lashed out at him, wavering between despondency, anxiety, discouragement and outright rage. Sometimes his patient’s immaturity surprised the doctor, and he could only shake his head. But nothing deterred him from his task, and over many months, and years he performed countless surgeries, and with each operation his Dream took shape. For with each operation his young client seemed more confident about the ultimate result.

     The surgeon was doing the kind of breakthrough, innovative work that have never been attempted, and his associates and friends were often skeptical of the final outcome. More than once someone accused him of “playing God." Their remarks were critical and cynical in tone, but the physician chose to regard them as compliments.

      But our little heroine’s injuries became less and less obvious, less hideous to those who beheld her. And with time the results of her unfortunate accident were almost imperceptible, until all that was left was a slight scar on one edge of her recreated lips. And her joy, and the reciprocal joy of her surgeon overflowed, and seemed to fill up the world around them.

     Well, my readers, the young patient determined to give back something of what she had received, and she began to impact one here, and bless one there. And I think I forgot to tell you. Before her injury, this little lady had been a nurse. She returned to her duties with more vigor and more enthusiasm than she’d ever felt before. For having once been a patient, she could empathize far beyond the theoretical. Dream had taken on reality. Fog had taken on flesh.

     We have been given a rare opportunity; an opportunity to play both Physician and Prophet. Physician and Prophet to those who languish without hope in this world.

     There are those in our midst who will never excel, nor attempt to do so. There are those in our company who will be content to squander their God-given hopes and dreams. There are those who will make the cemetery richer, for all the unfulfilled or unfinished Dreams that lie dormant in their dead bosoms.

     So my message to you is to look for That One; That One Person among many who displays the kind of unexplored, just under the surface potential to be singular, to be great, to be used of Our Lord. Look for that man or woman who can be shaped, molded, impacted; for the one who, though sick or sad or even a bit selfish, has a pliable and contrite spirit and who is marginally and increasingly ready to assume their God-given place on the earth.

     Inscribed on the Statue of Liberty is a verse: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teaming shore. Send these the homeless tempest tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

    Our mission is to people like that. The tired, the poor, the huddles masses, the wretched refuse, the homeless. And we have been given a Lamp to light their pathway. And we offer them a Golden Door; a door that leads to freedom.

    But many will refuse our comfort, and many will drift away. But if we can touch just one at a time. If we can make a difference in one life at a time. We may not be able to change the world, but we may be able to change the world of One person.

     Pour your efforts into all; everyone who seeks ministry, who seeks help, who pleads for deliverance. Do this. Do this.

     But look for That One; That One who seems to provoke you to do a little more. That One who not only needs a little more attention, but who, by words or actions, places themselves in your hands and bids you mold them into something lovely. Look for That One. Give your best efforts to That One.

      For you are both a Physician and a Prophet. So reminiscent of that doctor who bestowed his best labor on the little patient. God bids you pour healing suave in their wounds. He gives you Dreams in the night on their behalf, and provokes you to see the invisible and impossible.

     Someone, a very dear Someone once looked intently at me and said, “You must have seen something in me”. And I responded, “Indeed I did." Another precious Someone once mused, “You almost sent me away” and I replied, “I’m so glad I didn’t."

     One dear lady, a former client and now a co-laborer, said something recently that will always remain with me… “You’re the one. You inspired me to Dream my Dream." I paused a moment, and I could not speak. For her thanks came as a result all the intense time and effort I’d bestowed upon her, over the course of many years. Such momentary interactions must come directly from heaven for they inspire us to higher and more noble pursuits.


 By William McDonald, PhD. "Musings" Copyright 2010. 

If you wish to copy, save or share, please include the credit line, above
************
 
If you would like to see the titles and access hundreds of my blogs from 2015, do the following:

Click on 2015 in the index to the right of this blog. When my Dec. 31st blog, "The Shot Must Choose You" appears, click on the title. All my 2015 blogs will come up in the index.
***********
NOTE: **If you are viewing this blog with a Google server/subscription, you may note numerous underlined words in blue. I have no control over this "malady." If you click on the underlined words, you will be redirected to an advertisement sponsored by Google. I would suggest you avoid doing so