Burke's Epiphany

Today was uneventful, I stayed home because I wasn't feeling well, and so I had a great opportunity to rest. Sometimes it is nice to be at home when you weren't "scheduled" to be. It means that you really have nothing planned and you just get to "be". All the chores are done, all the projects that NEED to be addressed, have been. And so I rested!

I had a surprise call from a friend who came at the last minute and we had a "track pants on the couch night" and watched Grey's Anatomy. Lots of drama, good-looking doctors in scrubs, and sparky dialogue, interspersed with comments from the couch about what was going to happen next- I am always right by the way!

One of the story lines is about a renowned surgeon who is recovering from a gunshot wound inflicted last season. He is trying to work his way back into the operating room, but is having difficulty with his hand. He knows that he is having problems, but everyone around him-including his girlfriend, who works for him- thinks to highly of him that they don't takethe time to really look at him and assess his level of ability. At one point he asks again if they really think that he is ready to go back, and gets a distracted response. He seems about to tell the doctor about his problem when his adoring girlfriend-and fan/employee- walks in. There is this look on his face that desperatly wants someone to really see him in his place of weakness. Then his girlfriend says "he is fine, he is perfect". Away this doctor walks sad that know one was seeing his need but too afraid to say anything.

There is a lot of talk on Grey's Anatomy about how surgeons wrap their identity up in what they DO at the expense of knowing who they are. Knowing that this is a theme, and having had moments in my life where I didn't know who I was outside of what I did, I could feel the character's dilemma. If he admits that he can and should no longer be a operating he loses his identity, his place in this world, and he thinks the woman he loves.

In a beautiful moment she goes after him and when he admits the situation, she is quick to reassure him that her feelings haven't changed and that she will back him up.

It got me thinking...... how do we expect the best out of ourselves and those around us, while allowing them the room to be vulnerable, weak, and occasionally human??

I pray that God will open my eyes to opportunities to SEE the people around me who are looking for someone to give them permission to admit a weakness, or insecurity. When we do that for one another, we take away the power that the enemy has to blow little things out of proportion. As we all know, exposing fears and uncertainty neutralizes the threat that they carry. When the 'secrets' in our lives are exposed, they no longer have control over us.

This week, I am going to look a second time at people and really SEE them....