Always Ask First

Always Ask First

Show proper respect to everyone.

1 Peter 2:17 (NIV)

I come from a long line of well-preserved people. My mom is ninety-two, her older sister is ninety-five, and their younger sister is eighty-nine. I have great hand-me-down genes.

The youngest of the three sisters became deaf when she was two or three. Since it was the 1920s and medical treatment was limited, no one knows why it happened. But that never stopped my aunt. She was always the one who played practical jokes and kept things stirred up around their home.

Each fall my aunt rode the train to Austin, Texas, where she attended a school for the deaf. Mom says it was hard to see her leave, but they knew it was the best thing for her. And she came away with an excellent education and skills. Still, being profoundly deaf, my aunt is not always totally aware of things going on around her, nor does she completely understand why some things are happening. So her reactions are often interesting.

About a year ago my aunt had to undergo surgery and was in the hospital for several days. One of her children was typically in the room to interpret for her and the doctors and nurses. But one day her daughter had gone to get some coffee when the doctor made his rounds.

Knowing that my aunt was deaf, and not knowing sign language, the doctor didn’t try to communicate with her. Instead, he walked directly to her bed, raised the covers, and lifted her gown to look at her incision. But not understanding exactly what he was up to, and having been reared as a “good girl,” my aunt drew back and slapped the doctor with a mighty wallop.

Don’t you think he wished he had shown her a little more respect and asked first?

Dear Father, please help us to remember that we should show proper respect to you and always ask before we charge ahead in our lives. We know that life works better when we allow you to take the lead. Help us to live in the light of that knowledge. Amen.