Apples and Physicians: Both Are Appealing - Sports Ministry Envisioned Through the Eyes of a Visit to a Doctor

"Eat an apple on going to bed, and you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread."
                        - 1866 Notes & Queries 3rd Ser. IX. 153 A Pembrokeshire Proverb
 
Another way of saying this is, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."
 
I must not have consumed enough apples in my day because doctor visits seem to be a regular occurrence for me. Perhaps it is because I am now at “that age.” Going to see a physician is not at the top of my “fun things to do.” I am more impatient than a good patient. Time in the waiting room feels like I am wading through the entire day. Then, there are those annoying shots. I would rather swallow a “horse pill” than to get an injection. The first bad news about a shot is the needle. The second bit of bad news is where they want to stick the needle. If I have to get a shot, please aim for the arm and not the other popular location for shots. I suppose I could say the other location is a “real pain in the backside!”
 
I went to the doctor recently due to some health issues. It tickled me when the nurse was taking me to the examination room and said, “It’s good to see you!”
 
I also like seeing nurses and doctors, when I need to see them. I don’t go to a doctor’s office to hang out. I am there to get better physically or mentally.
 
Before this visit, I had tried over the counter medication but soon realized I needed to see the doctor and made an appointment. Of course, I waited until the illness got as bad as I could handle before scheduling the appointment. The receptionist told me I could see the doctor later that morning. I had breakfast before work and figured I would grab some lunch after the appointment. Unfortunately, as it often happens, my late morning appointment became an early afternoon appointment. I started to feel hungry but tried to address the emptiness in my stomach by catching up with my reading of waiting room magazines published three years ago.
 
To fix the infection, the doctor decided to give me a shot of penicillin. I do fine with penicillin, but not as well with needles. There have been a couple of times where the nurse administered an injection, and I had to wait until the wooziness went away to walk. A doctor friend of mine in Springfield, Missouri, knew of my needle-phobia issues, and when I was sick, he would come into the room with the largest hypodermic needle he had in his office squirting water out of it and saying, “We’ve got your remedy right here!” I loved his bedside manner.
 
The nurse came in and administered the shot. I thought I would be woozy because of not having had anything to eat since breakfast, but I was feeling better than usual after this shot. I decided to rise and see the receptionist to pay for the visit. She told me how much it was going to be and at the exact moment she mentioned a dollar amount, I fainted. The comedic timing could not have been better! When I came around, and it was determined I suffered no injury from the fainting or the fall, the receptionist told me she could not help but laugh at the timing of the faint.
 
Despite the waiting and the needles, it is good to have a physician when needed.
 
Jesus talks about visiting the doctor when He said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent."  (Luke 5:31 NLT) I have hope the doctor can “fix” me with whatever ails me. Through Jesus, I have the same hope that His death and resurrection will address any spiritual illness I have. Like apples, I am often rotten to the core!
 
We find one of the primary purposes of our ministries in this verse.  Our programs and facilities exist to call people who are not part of a church and who may not have any idea who Jesus is. It is through the lure of our leagues and programs that our sports, recreation, and fitness ministries can attract the interests of the people in our communities. Those of us fortunate in our call to serve in this area know that we do not merely offer basketball, cheerleading, camps, and soccer. Instead, we offer the world hope in the healing power of Jesus.   
 
As we plan and promote our sports, recreation, and fitness ministries, let us remember to seek the spiritually sick person and introduce him or her to the Great Physician.  We know the cure for the spiritual sickness of which people suffer.   
 
The beautiful part is we can share the good news without having to "needle" them.
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Author

David Waddell is a Professor at Ole Miss; CSRM Board of Trustee Member; Church & Recreation Ministry Veteran. The author of three books available through CSRM.