The Unknown
#NotStarTrekRelated
In the past week, I had a medical check-up appointment. I was not looking forward to it—not only because it had been painful in the past, but also because of the fear that they might find something “bad”. I am sure you can relate – we have all been there.
In the end, the procedure was far less scary than I had imagined, and the results were all “good”. Still, next time I may feel the same fears while waiting for an upcoming check-up. WHY?
There is a well-known prayer – the Serenity Prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Or in a modern form:
God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
Back to the discomfort I experienced last week. It would be easy to say that I failed to accept with serenity what I could not change. And surely, that was part of the problem. But there was also the dilemma: having the procedure done without anaesthesia—which was cheaper and available within a couple of weeks—or with full anaesthesia, which would cost more and require waiting another 2–3 months.
So the unknown of “is it something bad—or something that needs attention as soon as possible?” was competing with the unknown of “how painful will it be without anaesthesia?”. Did I lack the wisdom to know the difference between what I had to accept and what I should change? Maybe…
Or maybe I am simply an overthinker, someone who does not like the unknown and has not yet learned to place things into the Lord’s hands.
What do you think?
Author
Britta
I have been an au pair, a tourist, an explorer, and a nomad – looking for nice places to visit and the one place I want to stay forever.
Sometimes we struggle with too many choices. I wonder if you would have accepted it easier if you hadn’t had to decide between with or without anesthesia? Either way, good job on getting it done and I’m glad it turned out well.
Maybe – maybe not. We will never know. Thanks for your comment.