Sickness and Its Relief
By Maria L. Edwards
By Maria L. Edwards, M.D. DOWN through the ages sickness and disease have ever been present with the human race. By many they have been looked upon as a sort of misfortune that has befallen the victim in punishment, perhaps, for some misdemeanor or possibly from no cause whatsoever; by others they are considered as a mistake of “blind Providence;” and by still others they are looked upon as the ruling of an all-wise Providence. In the Scriptures we are assured that “the curse causeless shall not come.” Then with every sickness there is a definite cause somewhere to be found, just as surely as we have the unvarying truth that effect follows accurately a cause. What is spoken of as “blind Providence” is the carrying out of natural laws, which never vary in their workings any more than the law of gravity forgets to act or the needle fails to turn to the pole. The term “blind” is applicable only to the human, finite mind which is too limited in its comprehension to fathom the workings of Providence. Occasionally we are able to catch glimpses of nature’s effort to keep our bodies in health, and then it is quite easy to discern how we may assist in these efforts; and assisting nature is most assuredly a splendid policy to pursue. For examples: In case of fever, the whole system seems to cry out for cold water, and we have learned to give water in abundance, both internal and external applications, instead of persistently withholding it as was done twenty or thirty years ago. When the digestive organs are out of commission and the mouth and stomach filled with germs, as indicated by the coating on the tongue, and there is even repulsion at the thought of food, we have learned to give the stomach a complete or partial rest from food, instead of searching the neighborhood for some dainty morsel of jelly, jam, or cake with which to tempt the appetite. In fact, we have learned that no appetite is a very good indication that food could not be digested if taken, and would only poison the system by its fermentation and putrefaction. When a person faints he falls prostrate to the floor, and we have learned that the horizontal position favors the return of blood to the head and that nature has done the best thing in thus placing the patient. If a person is suffering with night sweats, nature is doing the best she can to eliminate the poisons in this way, and we have learned that it is wise to assist nature to rid the system of the poisons that are producing the night sweats rather than to use some means to check the sweats. Again, pain, the terrible dread of the human family, is nature’s great danger signal, warning us that something is wrong and should be at once corrected. If we are wise we will diligently attempt to remove the cause of the pain instead of paralyzing the nerves that give warning by some convenient narcotic. This latter method is like covering the red light that has been set for a danger signal, or removing the clapper from a warning bell, or extinguishing the great lamp in the lighthouse on the rocks, and then foolishly declaring that the danger is all over because there is no signal to be discerned. Much more might be said on the subject of attributing our troubles to “blind Providence,” but these points will illustrate many others. When we contemplate the love and tenderness of God, even to the degree that we are figuratively spoken of as the “apple of His eye,” and assured that He does not afflict any willingly, we can only say that an all-wise Providence permits sickness to come to each and all in that He does not by special interference with the laws of cause and effect prevent the sickness in each individual case, the cause of which has sometime, somewhere been instigated by us or our parents. But with the permitting of His children to suffer the real effects of real causes often comes the greatest spiritual blessing, and the most substantial character building. How can this be true? Not that one must be a cripple or an invalid to be really good, but possibly when he is for a time held back from the usual activities of life, he has time to consider the question of cause and effect. Then if the “curse causeless shall not come,” and we can not properly speak of “blind Providence,” it behooves us to become familiar with the causes of sickness and to study most carefully into the workings of Nature that we may intelligently cooperate with her in her efforts.