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The True Citizen, Wednesday, December 9, 2020 — Page 5A
Michael N. Searles
WHAT WE BELIEVE
There are a myriad of things
we believe because we accept
reality or the professional
judgement of an authority.
When the weatherman fore
casts a rainy day, we don’t say,
“What does he know!” There
is an underlying belief that
the weatherman provides his
advice based on professional
training and meteorological re
sources. With this information
in mind, we plan accordingly
and take an umbrella or rain
Mama told me Monday night
whenever we say hallelujah,
angels sing.
What a lovely thought, es
pecially after this whirlwind
year that’s had so many val
leys between some of the most
beautiful peaks.
Hallelujah.
The four syllables of the
word are quite singsongy.
Our conversation began with
me telling her about a young
man who lost his battle with
Ewing Sarcoma — a battle this
boy fought five times. A boy
a mere half a year older than
my own daughter. I am sure
many of you are familiar with
the story of Tanner Haywood
as we’ve followed his journey
on Facebook and watched his
gear when we leave the house.
Most of us would deem this be
havior to be prudent and wise.
There are numerous instances
when we accept the word of
experts and make our decision
based on their judgment. Upon
visiting an eye doctor and
being told we have cataracts,
we often arrange to have the
cataracts removed. There are
recommendations made by
experts and specialists that we
generally accept and believe to
be truthful. One of the reasons
we accept the words of experts
and specialists is our belief
in science. The long years of
education and experience of
those professionally trained
make us feel that they know
and his family’s faith grow
and shine during one of the
most difficult things a person
can endure.
You know what his mother,
Leslie, said when she made the
announcement?
Hallelujah.
She praised God for heal
ing her child and making him
whole and free of pain, never to
have to worry about that nasty
cancer ever again.
I write this now with a lump
in my throat and the threat of
tears in the corners of my eyes.
I’ve done a lot of wall-staring
over the past few days, caught
in moments of self-pity.
I turned 39 on Friday. Oh
man, I’m getting so old. I’m
not where I should be with my
life. I’m such a failure.
On Saturday, I helped an
swer phones and encouraged
donations to the children’s hos
pital radiothon. It’s so unfair
that we even need a children’s
hospital. Why do kids have to
more than we do and have our
best interest at heart.
There are other areas where
we are doubtful of the advice
provided us by experts. This
skepticism is associated with
our personal experiences and
belief system. Millions of in
dividuals have taken flu shots
with little or no ill effects. One
young woman known to the
writer, took a flu shot and had
adverse reactions that had her
bed-ridden for weeks. She did
recover and later when she was
teaching at a public school in
a neighboring state, all of the
teachers were required to take a
flu shot. She told the principal
that the last time she took a flu
shot it did terrible things to her
get sick?
While having family time
Sunday morning, Mama
whipped out a Target bag to
show me some Christmas gifts
she bought my nephews and
new baby niece. The light-
up, musical sippy cup got me
right in the gut. I wonder what
Christmas would be like if my
other two children were here.
I wish I could see the wonder
ment in their faces. I wish I
could tell them about the birth
of Jesus. I wish I could laugh
as they hunt down an elf named
Kelso (courtesy of big sister).
I wish I could physically be
mom for just a day. I wish. I
wish. I wish.
In the doctor’s office on
Monday, they went over signs
of heart attack and asked me a
lot of questions. Granny didn ’t
even know she had that heart
attack. Why didn’t we see any
signs ?
When I got in my car to go
home, I saw Tanner’s hand-
body. The principal did not be
lieve her and thought she was
merely afraid. The principal’s
disbelief was shaped by his and
the experiences of others who
took the flu shot with either
little or no consequences. The
young teacher was “required”
to take the flu shot or face disci
plinary action. She took the flu
shot and the same bad reactions
occurred requiring her to miss
a couple of weeks from school.
She was never again asked to
take a flu shot.
Our personal experiences
can lead us down a false path.
There is an expression that ev
eryone has an opinion about the
weather. When weather scien
tists began sounding the alarm
some young face in my news-
feed and the words that he was
now in Jesus’s arms, followed
by Hallelujah.
There I was stressing about
new medication and worrying
about side effects, what I could
and couldn’t eat, and here is
this mother and father, End
ing the bright spot in a dark,
sad day. I was humbled by
those words and thoughts and
reminded for the 7,854,328th
time that God has a plan and
we all have a purpose; those
things just may not look like
what we want them to.
If I’ve learned nothing else
in these past 96 hours, I realize
I need to slow down. I need to
replace why with okay. I need
to focus on the light, on the
good, on the promises and the
perfect plan, not my plan.
I need to say hallelujah more;
I cannot think of anything more
beautiful than angels singing
praises to our Father.
about global warming, there
was considerable push back.
Folks who had lived through
various weather events could
not accept what they were be
ing told. When a few skepti
cal scientists raised questions
about the accuracy of these
predictions, it gave a doubt
ing population something on
which to cling. Over the years,
the vast majority of actively
publishing climate scientists-
- about 97 percent—agree that
humans are causing global
warming and climate change.
Even with this consensus, 27 %
of Americans still have their
doubts about the human cause
of global warning.
While social media plays a
role in people steadfastly cling
ing to their beliefs, there is a
human condition that makes
it difficult for people to admit
they are wrong. An amaz
ing story on how tenaciously
beliefs are held comes from
Jodi Doeing, a South Dakota
emergency room nurse who
tweeted that she cannot help
thinking about COVID pa
tients who (say they) didn’t
have COVID because it is not
real. “They call you names
and ask why you are wearing
that ‘stuff’ because they don’t
have COVID because it is not
real.. .They (only) stop yelling
at you when they are intubated.
It’s like an [expletive] horror
movie that never ends.” The
ability to hold beliefs at odds
with overwhelming evidence
while strange is not extraor
dinary. However, refusing to
accept medical reality does not
postpone the deaths of those
who do not believe.
COVID-19 affects the
young, middle age, and el
derly, and takes the life of the
informed and the ill-informed.
This includes more than 900
front-line workers who con
tracted the coronavirus and
died. What we believe guides
and directs our actions, and
even when grim reality stares
us in the face it is hard to aban
don what we believe.
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HALLELUJAH
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