Skip to main content

The Importance of Seeing Well

                  When Nadia Popovici decided to attend the NHL’s Seattle Kraken’s first ever home game last year, she did not understand how life-changing that event would be for her and a complete stranger.

                Popovici was seated behind the Vancouver Canucks bench and, while she thoroughly enjoyed the game, she was also distracted by a mole on the neck of one of their staff members.  Unsure what to do, Popovici waited until the end of the game and then went over to where Brian Hamilton was standing.  She banged on the glass to get his attention and, when he looked, she held her phone up so that he could see a message that said, “The mole on the back of your neck is cancer”.

                Hamilton shrugged and went on with his duties, not giving it much more thought.  However, when he got home the next morning, he mentioned the incident to his wife who insisted he get checked out by the team doctor immediately.  As it turned out, Nadia was right.  Not only was the mole cancerous, but it was stage two malignant melanoma, which, if left undetected, would have been life-threatening.

                Hamilton had the mole removed and, because they caught it in time, his doctors told him that he was cancer-free.  In January, Hamilton and Popovici met so that he could thank her and present her with some money from the Canucks and the Kraken to help her go to medical school.

                How did Nadia Popovici notice this cancerous mole when everyone else in Hamilton’s life missed it?  Simply, Nadia was trained to see it. 

                Nadia wants to be a doctor, so she had spent time volunteering at a cancer ward.  "I saw his [mole] and I was like, wow, that is a picture-perfect example of what a melanoma looks like,'' she said.  

                Properly trained eyes always see what others miss.

                The apostle Paul recognized this need for eyes that see differently when he said, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18-19).

                May we have eyes that are trained to see our blessings. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

New Article: A Path Worth Following

  Jehoram was a terrible king.  He reigned in Judah around the year 850 B.C. and he did not care about God or his people.  His first act as king was to assassinate his six brothers so that no one could challenge his authority.  He was brutal and selfish.   Therefore, when the Bible sums up his life, it says, “Jehoram… passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David” (2 Chronicles 21:20).  Did you catch that?  “To no one’s regret!”  What a terrible phrase for your tombstone. On the other hand, consider a lady named Tabitha.  She lived in the city of Joppa in the first century A.D. and we are told, “… she was always doing good and helping the poor” (Acts 9:36).  She became sick and died.  This caused the community so much grief that they called Peter, who was in the nearby town of Lydda, to come and help them.  When Peter arrived, a crowd gathered, bringing all the robes and other clothing that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This.... Which Way Are You Leaning?

   When Ben Patterson agreed to join three friends climbing Mount Lyell, the highest point in Yosemite National Park, he did not realize what he was signing up for.  Early in the day, it became clear that he was completely unprepared for the task.  In an effort to keep up with his more experienced friends, Ben took a shortcut.  It did not occur to him that there might be a reason the others had not selected this route, but he soon found out why.  Ben became stuck on the glacier.  He could not move up, down or sideways and one wrong move would send him sliding down a forty-five-degree slope to the valley floor miles below.   That is when one of his friends came to the rescue. His buddy leaned over the edge and carved some footholds in the ice.  He told Ben to step to the first foothold and immediately swing his other foot to the second, then his buddy would pull him to safety.  Lastly, his friend gave him one more piece of advice....
Post a Comment
Read more