A couple of weeks ago an adolescent male patient presented accompanied by his mother. Our patient had reportedly managed to lodge a foreign body in his left arm just above his elbow. On physical exam, there was evidence of a puncture wound without evidence of acute infection. On ultrasound there appeared to be a foreign body approximately 1-2cm below the skin.
I had performed the ultrasound in hopes of not seeing anything and thus have a clean exit from the situation. Unfortunately, having noted a foreign body on imaging, the patient's mother was now quite enthusiastic about extracting said object. I was less enthusiastic. As any healthcare provider who has ever been on a similar treasure hunt will attest, the probability of success is fairly low and the probability of frustration and a huge time suck is quite high. I met and exceeded my expectations.
After what was nearly an hour (that felt arguably much longer), having failed to retrieve the elusive foreign body, I elected to abandon further attempts. As I had made a small incision to the patient's skin, I felt it prudent to close the skin. Closure was achieved with a single nylon stitch.
I attempted to reassure both patient and mother that the foreign body (if it were still in-situ... which I had begun to question) would likely not cause any long-term issues. However, if further attempts at foreign body removal were desired, I recommended they consider evaluation with a surgeon.
As I ushered patient and mother out the door, the patient's mother stopped and expressed a concern. "You closed the skin with a stitch. But, what if God wants to remove the foreign body?" The verbalization of a thought that was so far removed from any thoughts bouncing around in my own head rendered me dumbfounded momentarily.
After regaining my ability to speak, I explained that the solitary 4.0 nylon stitch I had placed would prove inconsequential in the face of Omnipotence if her proposed scenario were to occur. She expressed her gratitude (I suspect more as a nicety rather than true gratitude as I had dug around in her son's arm for an extended period of time with nothing to show for it). She seemed decidedly unconvinced of my dismissal of her concerns regarding the lone suture in place in her son's arm.
While I maintain that my skin closure would be inconsequential in the event of Divine intervention, I do appreciate the thought experiment. I wonder how often we suture closed possibilities prematurely without entertaining the prospect that GOD may choose to act. In the days since the above patient encounter which was frustrating and unsatisfying in many respects, I have grown to appreciate the scenario as a powerful metaphor.
As Mark Batterson writes in his best-selling book, The Circle Maker:
"God isn't offended by your biggest dreams or boldest prayers. He is offended by anything less. If your prayers aren't impossible to you, they are insulting to God. Why? Because they don't require divine intervention...."
"There is nothing God loves more than keeping promises, answering prayers, performing miracles, and fulfilling dreams... The greatest moments in life are the miraculous moments when human impotence and divine omnipotence intersect."
"The greatest tragedy in life is the prayers that go unanswered because they go unasked."
May we all be more restrained in our "suturing" and live with holy anticipation... open to the possibility of the "impossible."