Gutsy
Gutsy
“Do you not realize that everything
that enters the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled into the latrine?
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile.
For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft,
false witness, blasphemy. These are what defile a person, but to eat with
unwashed hands does not defile.”
Matthew 15:17-20
Forgive
me please, my gastrointestinal tract is hungry for central billing on my
interior life these past two weeks. From an earlier essay, you may recall, my
paternal Grandmother died early from a stomach/intestinal cancer. This family
medical history puts me on the “early and often” program for colon scoping (and
the Katie Couric colonoscopy evangelization team). I feel privileged to share
(delicately), because my best friend’s father also died of such a disease, and
I hope and pray that a little boldness in writing about mine will provide
encouragement to anyone who could be getting a colonoscopy for any preventative
reason. It might lengthen your life. Your family might appreciate that. If not,
you probably need more than a one-day GI consult.
So, this week I am scheduled for a colonoscopy. Which means that today I stop
eating raw fruits and vegetables, tomorrow I continue the same, Wednesday I
begin fasting, deep prayer (with a "please Lord, no polyps" mantra),
and start drinking liquids and “the movi-prep stuff.” Wednesday night I will attend to the throne room. Thursday,
procedure day, I am hoping and praying the doc can see a light at the end of
the tunnel in me. It would be a great bonus if the tunnel has smooth
side-walls. A dear friend went though his own colonoscopy and sent me an
article on writer Dave Barry’s experience with his colonoscopy. I highly
recommend the laugh and the read (link provided below). I won’t regurgitate his
humor on the matter. I’ve got a streak of my own to ruminate on here.
A large chunk of my training in OT was to assist people in recovery from major
injuries and debilitating illnesses, which often involved (at some point),
matters of toileting, showering, and grooming and hygiene. So my comfort level
in discussing, joking about, and contemplating the issues that can come out in
one of the most private rooms in the house can be pretty high by comparison to
the average. Which also makes me more comfortable considering that Jesus was
fully human, fully divine, and in that
nature used and spoke about the latrine (or “cast out into the daught”, or
simply “expelled” depending on how modern your translation of the
Bible). The simple fact remains - Jesus pooped.
I’m
privileged to count a urologist and a gastrointestinal doc as friends. Whenever
I am having a bad day, I know I can consider their jobs, their everyday
sainthood, and readily decide my days are much easier. So, with this
familiarity and sense of purpose, I’m not terribly anxious in anticipation of
the procedure itself. A solid sense of knowing the doctors are well skilled and
“this too shall pass” abides, and the Bible verse that emerges naturally, is
the one above, which is, in fact, kind of a personal favorite. It is very easy
to get so focused on eating organic, grass-fed, more fruits and veggies,
avoiding alcohol, caffeine, excess sugars, white starches, trans fats, or
high-fructose corn syrup, and all the rest of the purity measures that we
identify in this day and age, that I sometimes forget the more important form
of digestion is in fact happening in my mind and heart. Because of this, I
often lean on this passage to remind me that when my mind and heart are
digesting more love, grace, mercy, and hope, they will then spur on a natural,
stronger, healthier approach to my diet and health care choices, and impact positively on the plethora of
other behavioral and social choices I make in a day. So, as medical procedures
go, this is one that, for me, helps me stare mortality in the polyp, and
realize that I’m not built to live for-ever. I’m built to live for LOVE - the
big divine, sacred LOVE - not the power, sex, money, stuff, popularity crap
“loves” the world tries to foist.
Holy One, help me fast this week. Not just from solid foods, but from all the
evil thoughts, bitterness, worries, anxieties, or judgments that constipate my
heart, mind, and overall health. Help me open up and allow You to search me and
know my ways, but please enlighten the dark tunnels gently. Please, watch over
the health of all my loved ones and protect their hearts, minds, bodies, and
spirits from all that might seek to do them harm. Amen.
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/article1928847.html
