Looking Back

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57-62 ESV).

The year was 1910, and a dreaded epidemic of infantile paralysis was moving across the face of the Western world. Poliomyelitis struck its victims quickly, starting with painful muscle spasms and ending in partial or total paralysis. Doctors of the time had no idea how to treat the disease. Polio was baffling to the medical world of the day. In fact, the treatment applied in the early days of the disease, straightening and binding the spastic limbs, actually contributed to the devastating nerve damage. However, in a remote area of New South Wales, Australia, a young nurse had found a treatment that worked.

Elizabeth Kenny had become interested in medicine when, as a young tomboy, she fractured her wrist and acme under the care of a Dr. Aeneas McDonnell. He only formal education had been at her mother’s knee; yet, Dr. McDonnell’s medical books fascinated her. Elizabeth’s brother was an extremely weak child, but using the books, she was able to create a wood and string exercise machine and teach him to do exercises. Soon, his muscular development equaled that of his peers. Elizabeth pursued her nursing degree with a passion. When her fiancé forced her to choose between nursing and their relationship, she chose nursing. The world would be immeasurably grateful for that choice. For, on that fateful day in 1910, when she confronted her first case of polio, she ignored the common practice of the medical world and began to treat the child with hot compresses and massage. It was a purely instinctive reaction, but it worked. The muscle spasms disappeared by morning and the child had full mobility of her limbs. Nurse Kenny began to see other cases, most of which responded well to her unorthodox methods. Unfortunately, the rest of the world would not know about her breakthrough for many decades. The medical men of the world refused to believe that a nurse in a little town in Australia had come up with a radical new way to fight this dread disease. They refused to change their treatment methods, or to spread the word of her successes. Fortunately, the parents of the young patients praised her incessantly, and soon her reputation spread overseas. By 1950, after many rejections, her methods finally became the standard practice worldwide.

It is so easy to fall prey to discouragement. But, having put your hand to whatever “plow” God has given you, keep your hand on it and don’t quit! Fix your gaze ahead and keep going forward. There you will find the reward of faithfulness!