Aaaarrrrrgggghhhhh!

by Tim Ross

Ever wonder if life should have come with a warning label?

Finally! I’m at the end of this ordeal. I can get on with life! That’s exactly how I felt early the morning of my final day in the hospital. After four days of being tested, retested, poked, prodded, and squeezed, I was more than ready to “get outta here!”

I had been admitted to the hospital after suffering a collapsed lung. It happened while playing water football with a group of guys at the Austin Texas Fourth Ward picnic.

I’d have been just fine had I not tried to save the day for my team by attempting to tackle Kevin Horrocks. There I was, by far the skinniest guy in the ward, and big Kevin was on the fast track to score with only me left to stop him. The last thing I remember is being flattened and stuffed into the mud face first. Kevin was kind enough to assist me out of the ooze, but by then the damage had been done.

I had recuperated nicely and was to the point where the rest of my recovery could be handled at home. There was only one thing left to do—remove the chest tube which had been surgically implanted between two of my ribs.

It seemed a simple enough procedure. I was, however, a little curious as to why two doctors and three nurses had gathered in my room for the occasion.

“Are your ready?” the doctor asked.

“Doc,” I told him, “this thing has been in my chest for four days. I’m ready. Pull it!”

“Arrrggghhhrrrghhhggg!” It felt like my heart was being extracted instead of the tube. For a brief flash, I felt as if my body was being turned inside out. Though the experience was brief, I thought I was going to die.

The trauma having subsided somewhat, I asked, “Doc, why didn’t you tell me what that was going to feel like?”

He chuckled. “Because if I had, there is no way you would have let me take it out.” He was right.

Do you suppose that is why our Heavenly Father has not given us a memory of the things we knew in the premortal existence about our experiences here on earth? I mean, what would we have done if we knew beforehand all of the problems we were going to face? The inevitable challenges inherent in mortality are perplexing, let alone all the other problems we create with our own mistakes and unwise decisions. The fact is, life can be very tough at times.

However, as difficult as it is, aren’t we glad we made the choice to continue our eternal progression? Think of the alternative had we refused to accept our Savior’s plan. Hard as mortality is at times, it’s a lot better than the fate chosen by Lucifer and his deceived followers.

You’ve heard it said, “The Lord never promised us it would be easy; he just said it would be worth it.” It’s not always a breeze to make everything come together, but at least you know you’ve made a right choice by coming.

Illustrated by Stephen Moore