Sometimes You Gotta Get Your Hands Dirty
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Colossians 3:23–24 (ESV)
“Can you help me get my brother in?” a patient’s family member said. “He’s got a broken leg.”
I grabbed a wheelchair and followed him outside to his car. He opened the passenger door to reveal his brother, who was clutching his lower leg, in obvious distress.
“Hello sir, let’s get you in this chair,” I said. As the man stood on his good leg, he took his attention off his injury. I watched as his leg began to deform just above his foot. Yep, it’s broken alright, I thought.
He was leaned over in the wheelchair, clutching the break on either side, trying to keep it from moving. As we got him into a triage room, we had to get his jacket off to take his blood pressure, so he had to let go.
That’s where I came in.
This guy had been riding an ATV and had an accident. He had taken his boot off, of course. His sock was dirty, and I had no idea where his foot had been. I didn’t have gloves on at that moment.
No choice.
I grabbed his foot in one hand and his leg in the other, on the other side of the break. He had to let go. We had to get his vital signs. I had to keep it from moving.
No choice. Sometimes you gotta get your hands dirty.
This is true in other parts of our lives too. Sometimes crisis strikes. Sometimes things go wrong. Sometimes family needs help. Sometimes a friend needs saving.
No choice. Sometimes you gotta get your hands dirty.
How do you react when you life throws something unexpected your way? Do you have the grit and determination to bite that bullet and do what needs to be done?
How would you like to be remembered? As someone who shied away from hard work? Or will you be remembered as the single mom who worked tirelessly to feed her kids? As the dad who didn’t sleep so his family had a roof over their heads? How about the parent who would not give up on your straying kid? Or the daughter who took in your elderly parent and returned to her the love she gave you, until the very end?
These are the things I have seen. These are the people I remember.
Sometimes you gotta get your hands dirty.
If you enjoyed this article, please click that “clap” button and share!
For more of my articles, visit my profile here.
Thank you for reading!
If you are a medical professional and would like to write about life lessons learned in the ER from a Christian perspective, I’d love to host your stories in One Christians ER. Please email me at davidjfleming17@gmail.com to become a writer.
