People are an interesting bunch. Some always find things in the worst way while others always find themselves looking up no matter what crosses their path. We call these two polar opposites pessimists and optimists and they are always interesting to study because of how dramatic the difference is between the two.

The seventh season of FOX's King of the Hill animated series contains an episode entitled "The Son Also Roses" in which the main character, Hank Hill, finds himself dealing with a son who is more obsessed with gardening than football. Being a caring father, Hank works with his son in a rose-growing competition and is introduced to the Japanese world view known as "wabi-sabi" by his son, who argues with his father over the beauty of an imperfections of a rose making it more beautiful. While the concept's roots are religious in origin, they have become more of a casual concept that takes an optimistic view on things. Bobby explains the concept to his father by saying, "Wabi-Sabi is an Eastern tradition, Dad. It's celebrating the beauty in what's flawed. Like the crack in the Liberty Bell or the mole on Cindy Crawford's face." After Hank rebuffs the idea, Bobby prods again, "But sometimes it's the imperfections that make you love something even more. So what if this rose is a little short, a little wide? It's got more personality than those other ones."

For those who know me well, I have been in the hospital essentially since the eighth of February, batting a condition known as ulcerative colitis. Prior to entering the hospital, I was in a very serious state of pain, mental and physical fatigue and danger of having to have a major surgery if I hadn't been hospitalized. For weeks, I had been attempting to stay strong against a condition that can be so stressful on the mind and body. On a handful of times, I found myself on the verge of just breaking down in tears over how horrible things had been and gave up on doing much besides going to classes, work and resting at home. Some days I would go to hang out with friends but less and less. I pretty much gave up on posting anything here at RUnderground as well because I was simply too tired and, to be honest, didn't care.

Needless to say, things weren't going too well.

Hospitals can be very stressful themselves, especially given what goes on in them. For me, my condition and how much of a toll it took on my body required me to receive two units of blood; an iron infusion; potassium infusions and a complete stop to my diet besides popsicles, Jell-O and soups that forced the doctors to put me on a Total Body Nutrition IV through a large vein in my neck. I also have had to go through physical therapy as my muscles have been weakened to the point where a walk down the hallway of the hospital can be a bit taxing on the calves and legs in general. As a result, I have been granted temporary handicap status for the next few months once I get out of the hospital, which could be sometime this weekend or early next week, depending on how things go over the next few days.

Here's where the pop culture reference and the idea behind this article come into place. Perception and where our strength comes from.

Many of you know I am a Christian. This is most likely due to being so open about my faith and beliefs in the spring of 2006 during the whole media coverage of the "Christ on Campus" debate. I write this article to establish two points--the first being that this whole incident has further proven my belief in the Lord and His love for society and the second addressing a view that was put forth in a recent "Christ on Campus" edition that bothered me a great deal because of how it relates to me, not necessarily in a religious way (I have already since backed away from pointing out all the flaws in that series with Biblical evidence) but a physical way.

Much to my surprise and the surprise of my family and friends, I have been in such high spirits during my time here in the hospital. Skeptics will argue that I am feeling this way because while hospitals are places that no one wants to go to and can be high-stress zones, the mental high I am currently on is generated from the hospital itself--that the comfort and control I am feeling is because of the "you're in a hospital, nothing major can go wrong (of course, this is not a certainty but true in more cases than the opposite) while you are there" concept. I refuse to buy into such a belief.

Personally, I believe that the comfort I have has been given to me by the Lord. After all, the Bible is filled with numerous passages regarding God comforting and healing the sick. Jeremiah 30:17 says, "For I will restore health unto thee... saith the Lord." Psalms 103:2-3 states, "I will bless the Lord and not forget the glorious things He does for me. He forgives all my sins. He heals me." More specifically to my condition and my belief behind it, there's 2 Corinthians 7-10:

"Therefore, that I might not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.' I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

In this passage, Paul describes being struck with "a thorn in the flesh." People who study the Bible debate over what exactly this refers to, but a common belief that I subscribe to is that the thorn is a physical ailment that Paul had to deal with for quite a while.

Like me, Paul was in a difficult situation. He was sick, and painfully so--after all, he is described as begging the Lord to have the condition taken away. But it is here that the Lord takes an interesting turn. Instead of a snap-of-the-finger removal of the illness, Paul is given the grace of the Lord. Paul becomes an example of wabi-sabi, an example of the power of God. Instead of being a pessimist about his condition, Paul uses it the disease against the wishes of Satan by glorifying God.

I find myself in a similar situation. I will not go into detail about why I was given this condition, besides that I believe that it was given to me by Satan in an attempt to strike me down, because that will be the subject of much debate and would take away from the focus of this article. I use this moment to further my belief that God is real, that He is always present with us even when we fail to realize Him or His actions. I have been in such incredible spirits during my time here and not because I'm in the "safe zone" of the hospital--I hate being in the hospital. No offense to those who works in hospitals but that's simply the truth. Nobody wants to be here (with the exception of those who collect paychecks by working there).

I credit the Lord for everything. I will always credit Him for everything that He does for me.

Now, my second point (although part of it is based on the first). This past week's edition of Whim Internet Magazine contains a new edition of the "Christ on Campus" series that has been considered discontinued by many given its lack of editions since last semester and the presence of a new series by toonist Christian Keesee entitled "Food," which I personally have found to be comical and witty most of the time.

The toon, which can be seen at the following link, contains three panels. The first shows Jesus walking peacefully towards a traffic sign. The second shows the Lord being hit by a car (with the license plate "IMCRYPL" which I did find witty given that its possible to fit that on a plate name) being driven by a handicapped person who says "Thanks for the quality of life ***hole!!" The final panel shows bloodied Christ talking to God, saying "I just don't understand why a handicapped man would want to run over me." God responds with: "I mean other than the fact that I crippled him for life instead of killing him, I don't know either! I thought people liked spending time in a wheelchair. At least he won't have to worry about walking around places... he gets to ride everywhere!"

One could argue with the premise behind God saying what He did but I can easily see both sides of the potential debate. Personally, I think that part of what the Lord says in the toon is true, but the cartoon makes Him seem a thoughtless, heartless being. That is not the case. Like myself, just because a person goes through a condition or becomes does not mean that it is a bad thing. I know some of you, the dear readers, will scoff at such conjecture, but let me remind you all of the "God tests us and puts trials in our lives to help strengthen us and helps us realize how much He loves us" concept. Some find this position confusing, as they tend to not understand how a loving being would create obstacles in our lives or not snap-of-the-finger fix our problems.

Consider instead the wabi-sabi concept and what Paul went through. Sometimes, disabilities and conditions can help us better understand things and recognize what is good in life. For me, I further realized the tremendous love of God and the caring and compassion of my fellow man, as I have been informed of the numerous prayer lists I have been placed on; have been visited by a slew of people around the community, some of them people I have not known long or at all and the general amount of support I have from people I know, barely know and do not know at all. This whole experience has also taught me a great deal of patience--after all, I was on the annoying "clear liquid diet" for nearly a week and so much desired the taste of noodles, pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, lettuce and many other kinds of foods but was unable and am still unable to eat most of those.

Sometimes, we (Christians included, because sometimes we fail to do this) need to take the time to find the wabi-sabi in our lives. The beauty of imperfection, the power in weakness. Not all negatives have to be viewed as such. Sure, a rainstorm can seem depressing to some, but it gives new life to the earth below.

You just need to look.

Photo Credit: Blake Fought