A Crack on the Coccyx
"I rigged up a beam with a pulley at the top of the building...and filled the barrel with extra bricks. Then I went to the bottom and cast off the line.
"Unfortunately, the barrel of bricks was heavier than I was, and before I knew what was happening the barrel started down jerking me off the ground..."
Life is like that—ups and downs, a bump on the head, and a crack on the shins.
Gordon B. Hinckley
Last week a lady came in with an injured coccyx (that’s your tailbone if you don’t speak anatomy). It's not a happy place to have a broken bone and I was supposed to give our patient a massage. Unfortunately for her I have never handled an injured coccyx. I know what it looks like, I know where it is, but for some reason the practical application just wasn't hitting me. Poor woman. After some time she at last succeeded in explaining to me that I needed to lift the buttocks and massage in the crack to lift up the bone. Of course. Silly me. I need to massage your butt crack. Let me get right to it. Then I listened uncomfortably to her cries of pain as I pressed much too forcefully on her tender Latina nalgas.
I’m still not sure what was worse: The failed butt massage or my nearly dropping a baby with Down's syndrome. Being as human as I am, I have a plethora of embarrassing moments and unfortunate lapses of memory with which to haunt me. Sometimes I make bad judgment calls. Sometimes I’m just absentminded. I can easily clear that puddle if I jump. I'll remember without writing it down. My hair isn't that greasy today. Sometimes I leave the lights on; sometimes the knife slips when I’m cutting onions; sometimes I put my shirt on backwards.
“Life is like that—ups and downs, a bump on the head, and a crack on the shins” (Gordon B. Hinckley). Sometimes we scratch our knees. Sometimes we forget to pay rent. Sometimes we buy a bad watermelon. Some men can't answer their smart phones; some women fall down the stairs; and some interns give bad butt therapy.
I believe that mistakes, forgetfulness, poor financial decisions, broken bones, and incompetency can all be overcome through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I also believe that this purifying process will take a lifetime and beyond. Consequences of our humanness will still take effect. We will still feel regret, guilt, frustration, embarrassment, and we will still have to work hard to overcome it all; but with a little bit of help from our Father above we can also feel relief and pleasure and peace as we go. We can learn where to buy the best band-aids, we can learn how to swipe the screen of a smart phone to accept a call, one may even learn proper coccyx-lifting techniques.
As Elder Neil A. Maxwell once said, “Moments are the molecules that make up eternity.” May we learn to be resilient and enjoy our moments more, and may a crack on the coccyx never keep us far from the Master.
"Unfortunately, the barrel of bricks was heavier than I was, and before I knew what was happening the barrel started down jerking me off the ground..."
Life is like that—ups and downs, a bump on the head, and a crack on the shins.
Gordon B. Hinckley
Last week a lady came in with an injured coccyx (that’s your tailbone if you don’t speak anatomy). It's not a happy place to have a broken bone and I was supposed to give our patient a massage. Unfortunately for her I have never handled an injured coccyx. I know what it looks like, I know where it is, but for some reason the practical application just wasn't hitting me. Poor woman. After some time she at last succeeded in explaining to me that I needed to lift the buttocks and massage in the crack to lift up the bone. Of course. Silly me. I need to massage your butt crack. Let me get right to it. Then I listened uncomfortably to her cries of pain as I pressed much too forcefully on her tender Latina nalgas.
I’m still not sure what was worse: The failed butt massage or my nearly dropping a baby with Down's syndrome. Being as human as I am, I have a plethora of embarrassing moments and unfortunate lapses of memory with which to haunt me. Sometimes I make bad judgment calls. Sometimes I’m just absentminded. I can easily clear that puddle if I jump. I'll remember without writing it down. My hair isn't that greasy today. Sometimes I leave the lights on; sometimes the knife slips when I’m cutting onions; sometimes I put my shirt on backwards.
“Life is like that—ups and downs, a bump on the head, and a crack on the shins” (Gordon B. Hinckley). Sometimes we scratch our knees. Sometimes we forget to pay rent. Sometimes we buy a bad watermelon. Some men can't answer their smart phones; some women fall down the stairs; and some interns give bad butt therapy.
I believe that mistakes, forgetfulness, poor financial decisions, broken bones, and incompetency can all be overcome through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I also believe that this purifying process will take a lifetime and beyond. Consequences of our humanness will still take effect. We will still feel regret, guilt, frustration, embarrassment, and we will still have to work hard to overcome it all; but with a little bit of help from our Father above we can also feel relief and pleasure and peace as we go. We can learn where to buy the best band-aids, we can learn how to swipe the screen of a smart phone to accept a call, one may even learn proper coccyx-lifting techniques.
As Elder Neil A. Maxwell once said, “Moments are the molecules that make up eternity.” May we learn to be resilient and enjoy our moments more, and may a crack on the coccyx never keep us far from the Master.
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