Tags
calling, christian life, first things, john 17:4, prayer request, responsibilities, triage, walking with the father
I’m not medically trained. I have a brother and sister who are both R.N.s, but not me. I studied Lit in college. I never watched the T.V. medical dramas like ER, House, Chicago Hope, etc. Though I doubt the term triage has to be used much in American hospitals. Actually, I heard the term in war movies. It basically means the process which occurs when there are more injured or sick patients than can be adequately cared for in the appropriate amount of time, thus requiring a judging/determining/sorting of who will receive care and in what order. Simply put, patients are put into classifications such as the following:
- Will live no matter what we do
- Will die no matter what we do
- Could live if provided the appropriate treatment by the appropriate deadline.
Why do I mention this? Well, I’ve been thinking that this might be a year of living according to the rules of triage. I have class from 915-5:30 roughly, 5 sometimes 6 days a week. I have a family for whom I am responsible and with whom I want to spend time. I have homework that comes out of those 8 hours of class (pretend like everyday is summer Hebrew, C++, Finance, or some course by Hafemann demanding a good deal of homework). I obviously need to sleep as well. I have a handful of folks stateside with whom I need to stay in touch, and a wider group of people to whom I am at least a little obliged to keep updated. When will it all get done. I’m not even mentioning the commitment to be in the Word of God and to pray regularly as well as to obey the Lord gladly be gathering with His people! A little triage might be necessary with all the mounting responsibilities.
Taken from another angle, triage might also serve as a slogan for the Christian life in general. We are called to be people who aren’t just doing any ol’ thing. We are commanded to redeem the time for the days are evil! John 17:4 reminds us that Jesus completed what the Father gave Him to do…there were a million others things He could have done, perhaps millions of sick, poor, and dying, and definitely millions of people who hadn’t heard the good news of the Kingdom yet, but He focused on the things that the Father gave Him…spiritual and vocational triage. We (or maybe just I) get so caught up in/interested in/sucked into a million good things forgetting that the Father isn’t asking us to do a million good things, but a few specific (perhaps great, perhaps redundant) things.
Well, I could go on, but I really want to ask for your prayers. That I would be able to classify my responsibilities well. There will be things that will continue on without me just fine (Class 1). Some things, even if I gave all of my time to them, would experience no difference. Their fate is sealed as far as I’m concerned(Class 2). But, there are some things that need my attention, things to which I am called by the Father to care for and give attention to. Pray for me. If you look at my list above, there’s not much, if anything, that can be completely thrown out, but I need to give the right amount of time to each thing. Thanks in advance.