February 25, 2019 (Monday)
I once saw a person who was burned so badly he had huge blisters on his skin. Some of them were as big as your fist. No, he wasn’t burned in a fire; he was sunburned. He was only a ten-year-old boy who thought he would get the best tan in the world by lying in the sun all day at a public swimming pool. He turned himself throughout the day so that he would be evenly broiled. I was that kid.
When I got home and saw what I had done, I had no choice but to remain in bed as the effects of the sun’s rays continued to deepen, much like food from a microwave oven continues to cook for a short while when removed from the appliance. Someone gave me a jar of Noxema and I was so very grateful for the relief that it gave.
When I look at the discolored patches of skin on my face, I am reminded of that day. But I have been very fortunate that as of today, 77 years later, I have not been diagnosed with skin cancer.
My next experience, at least the next one I can remember, came about four years later when my cousin, Clinton Attaway, and I spent the day in Galveston. We rented little rubber rafts, walked out in the ocean to meet the waves, and then we each rode a raft as it rode the wave toward shore. We did this many times that day. After we returned home, I discovered that the salt and sand between me and the little rubber raft had chafed the skin on my chest and upper thighs and made the sunburn that I got that day even worse in those areas. We made it back to Houston on the train in time to go to work at 5:00 p.m. as ushers in the old Majestic Theater downtown (now demolished and replaced with a hotel and parking garage). I dreaded putting on that uniform with cardboard collar, cuffs and dickey. No shirt, etc. The uniform was wool. You can imagine my discomfort as I slowly turned more red throughout the five hours at work. My boss felt sorry for me and stationed me at a door where there was a little extra cool breeze to ease my suffering.
The last time I remember staying in the sun too long was just a few years ago after my hair had been falling out for a few years. Slowly but surely my scalp was exposed to the sun’s rays and I had not noticed because I don’t stay in the sun very much usually. But that day I was working on a car out in the sun all day. My body was covered, but I didn’t think about my head. I had to be very careful with comb and hair brush for a few days until my scalp stopped hurting. I still have hair, but it is very thin on top, and I’ve learned to beware of too much sun up there.
There you have it: the saga of the sunburned. Still have no tan.
Those three instances of skin damage happened only because I made some bad decisions. I alone was responsible. I’m reminded of Scripture that urges us to remember that we reap what we sow. Much suffering in the world seems to have no explanation, but some of it is definitely the result of our own willful actions. Let us remember what those Bible verses tell us: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:7-10 NIV).