Weary, he lifted his head. Nausea was wearing off, and his thoughts were coming gradually together. He would soon find out how a series of small decisions would change the rest of his life.
As his mind wandered, someone he faintly recognized approached slowly through the door. She was smiling but hesitant. Somewhat confused, he asked her, “Where am I?” Easing toward him, she sat on the edge of his bed. “You’re in our bedroom room. Do you remember anything?” Now, feeling frightened, he responded, “No.”
His mind raced. “Where? When? How? Who?” His thoughts darted back and forth. It was as if a fog was surrounding him. He couldn’t see beyond his current experience. No memories. Nothing. He was there in the present, alive, to be sure, but bewildered nonetheless. No sooner had his mind started racing again than a few other people who seemed familiar to him entered the room slowly.
They were younger. Children. Looking into their puzzled faces, he asked, “How long have I been here?” They looked at each other, then at the woman sitting slightly on the edge of his bed. No answer. One rushed out of the room, covering her face. The others stayed and stared. Silence permeated the space, and its presence was full of restlessness.
After an extended period of bumbling through conversation, he tried to sit up. Now, he realized the extent of his circumstances. He couldn’t move. He tried to lift his head and hands with all his might, but nothing. Realizing the paralysis that seized his body, he closed his eyes. One thought after another yielded no relief until, piercing the corner of his eyes with a stinging sensation, a tear formed. He couldn’t wipe it away. Try as he might, he couldn’t lift a hand, and so slowly and indictingly rolled down his cheek.
Flooded with emotions, he exclaimed, “What happened to me? Why am I here? Why can’t I move?”
Just then, another group entered the room with haste. Their presence was professional, and their attire was impeccable. With unmistakable precision, one of them, the softer-looking of the two, remarked, “I am so sorry to inform you, but you have contracted lazy-bone syndrome.” “What?” he quizzically asked. “What is a lazy-bone syndrome?”
“The lazy-bone syndrome is a condition brought about through small choices of serving yourself and neglecting your responsibilities, spiritual life, and loved ones,” she stated sharply. Further, she said, “It expresses itself in paralysis, loss of memory, and confusion.” She went on, “You happened to contract the worst state of the syndrome, which means you have been selfish and lazy with your responsibilities and have neglected your loved ones for extended periods.”
He shuttered and asked, “How long have I neglected these things, as you say?” “Our records show for at least ten years. You started well and had much enthusiasm, but you quickly descended into chaos with the promotion at work and the enjoyment of hobbies. You have had good moments, but your constant drip of selfishness has led you to your current condition.”
He sighed. His chest tightened. Guilty, his eyes turned up to the ceiling. He knew she was right. Just then, he fell asleep, and his world faded away.
Wide awake now, he sat up in bed and realized it had all been a dream. His wife was next to him, the clock tick was still methodically clicking, and he was as free as a bird flying from its cage. A new perspective came over him—a new vision for life. Slowly pushing the covers back, he made his way into the kitchen, poured a glass of water, put on a pot of coffee, and wrote his thoughts…
Gratitude filled his heart and mind. He penned these words…
Today, I resolve to invest my life in the people, things, and activities that matter most…
He laid his pen down next to the paper, put his face into his hands, and thought: “Resolved…to invest my life in the people, the things, and activities that matter most…” Flooded with memories, he sighed. “Today is a new day…resolved to let…” his mind wandered. Drip. Drip. Drip. The coffee pot was finishing its brew cycle. Picking back up with his thoughts, he said, “I am resolved to protect, preserve, and manage the daily drippings that come into my life. Resolved to faithfully steward the content, data, information, entertainment, activities, and more that I let influence me daily. Resolved to add…” His thoughts faded again to memories but also possibilities. “Resolved to write my family notes of encouragement. Resolved to read and meditate on God’s Word. Resolved to pray more than just at meals. Resolved to use my words for building up. Resolved to offer one word of encouragement to someone daily. Resolved.”
How Does This–Peculiarly Somewhat Humorous–Short Story Apply To Us Today?
- What are you allowing to influence your eyes and ears daily?
- Resolve to put off the old self and to put on the new self, “which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph. 4:24)
“So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
Ephesians 4:17-24
— November 30, 2023