Invisible

Code Trauma: 60-ish yom, motorcycle

These pages send chills down my spine. It can't be good, I think. This one, it turns out, was good, relatively speaking.

He was speaking when he arrived, neatly deposited by the helicopter EMS crew. Thankfully, he wore a helmet and his injuries were more-or-less contained between earbone and buttbone. A cut across here from the smashed windshield, a bruise along there from the handlebar, broken rib(s) from the signpost and lots of confusion in the brain from the endo he performed.

Shortly after his arrival, I met his wife, his companion rider and his son in the conference room. I joined them "to be with them at this time" while we waited for medical updates from the doctor.

As we waited, his rider friend expended his nervous energy talking and keeping us all amused. Rider Friend is a motorcycle driving instructor. He described looking in his mirror and watching in horror as his friend, the patient, forgot to "look ahead of the curve instead of down at the pavement in front of him." This resulted in his untimely endo-deposit at the bottom of a ditch which inconveniently occurred near a bridge.

Rider Friend explained in detail some of the nuances of piloting motorcycles. He tells all his students to "approach any intersection, any oncoming car, any stopped vehicle, any pedestrian, any truck... pretty much anything - AS IF YOU ARE INVISIBLE. Because you are," he reiterated. Over and over he tells us in myriad ways "Even if you had flashing neon signs, people in cars don't see you. You could be naked with torches on fire coming out of your ears and they don't see you. YOU ARE INVISIBLE, so act like it."

I'm comforted by this guy's insistence on defensive driving. I'm hopeful for his friend in the trauma bay by this guy's explanation of the protective gear that they wear. I'm captivated by the patient's wife's infectious laughter at Rider Friend's description of her husband's blooper. (Too bad he landed on his head, I think.)

The doctor arrives, saying that Mr. Patient will be okay. He's got a few stitches on his face and had a bad concussion, so they are keeping him overnight. We all breathe a sigh of relief.

I reflect, how is God invisible to me? How often have I looked right directly at God and not seen God? God is naked in front of me with torches coming out of God's ears, but I don't see God.

I pray, God, open my eyes to see you around me. Awaken me to your presence and fill my heart with Love.

Then Solomon spoke: God has told us that he lives in the dark where no one can see him; I've built this splendid Temple, O God, to mark your invisible presence forever. - 1 Kings 8:12

How is the invisible God in your midst in this moment?