Little GIANT
"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee:
for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly
therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me." (II Corinthians 12:9) "Verily I
say unto you, Whosoever will not receive the kingdom of God
as a little child, he shall not enter therein." (Mark 10:15)
Gene Seanor was a giant of a man! Without any question, he
was one of the biggest men I have ever known. Yet Gene
Seanor was a dwarf.
Not long after our third child, Lucy, was born, she
developed a wheezing in her breathing. When it persisted,
Belle took her to the pediatrician, who reassured her that
Lucy's lungs were clear and that there was nothing to be
concerned about. We were both very much relieved. However,
six weeks and several visits later, there still was no sign
of improvement, so we went together to the doctor's office
to find out exactly what the trouble was. When he was unable
to give us even an idea of what might be causing the
wheezing, we became very worried.
One of Belle's close friends had become disenchanted with
the same pediatric group that we were using, and had changed
to a pediatrician in the neighboring town whose name was Dr.
Eugene Seanor. She made an appointment to see him the next
day. As she walked into his office, even before she had sat
down, he asked her if Lucy had any allergies, because he
thought her eyes looked allergic. Belle knew of none, but he
told her to take Lucy off wheat pablum and see if that made
any difference. The wheeze was gone in 48 hours, and so was
our former pediatrician.
Gene was not a midget, he was a dwarf, which means that he
was not only abnormally small, but he was also deformed, in
that his arms were too short even to reach into his pants
pockets. Consequently, whenever he made a house call (which
was almost unheard of, but which he insisted on doing if a
child was really sick), he would arrive in his little red
Volkswagon "bug" with his jacket pockets bulging with
everything from his glasses to his stethoscope. One such
visit stands out in my memory.
One of our children (it happened to be Lucy again) had a
high temperature, and Gene came to check on her. After he
had finished his examination, Belle and I were mortified to
here Lucy suddenly say, "Dr. Seanor, how come you are so
small?" But to this remarkable man, that was a perfectly
natural question having a perfectly natural answer. Without
a moment's pause, and these are close to his exact words, he
answered, "Honey, God made me that way, so that I could be
just like you kids." And, indeed, in the best sense of the
word, he was more "child-like" in his simple openness,
transparency, and lack of self consciousness, than anyone I
have ever met.
With four children growing up, inevitably there were crises
in our family, a few of which were just "the last straw" for
Belle. On these few desperate occasions, which usually
involved problems with our kids, but occasionally with me,
she felt that Gene was the one person on whom she could call
for help; and he always had the time, the understanding, and
the right words to calm her. I suspect that this unique
aspect of his practice, for which there never was any
charge, was routine with him, and that many other Mothers
besides Belle availed themselves of it.
When our son, David. was 11 or 12 years old, he was having
some of the difficulties that young boys that age typically
have, and we didn't really know how to help him. Belle
mentioned it one day to Gene, and he immediately
volunteered, "Why don't you bring him in to have a chat with
me?" Belle waited outside in the car for half an hour while
they talked. We never knew what they talked about, but
pretty soon the problems cleared up. After that, David would
periodically drop in on Gene for one of their visits, to
which I believe they both looked forward.
Gene touched the hearts and influenced the lives of everyone
in our family, but I think particularly of David, who later
himself became a doctor, largely because of his respect and
admiration for this unusual man. When David got married, one
of the few people that he wrote personally to invite to the
wedding was Gene Seanor. The reply came from his wife, who
explained that Gene, who was in his early fifties, actually
was well into old age for a dwarf, and that he had died on
the golf course several weeks before.
As I look back over the years that I knew Gene, there was
one quality about him that particularly distinguished him
from most of the rest of us. Somehow, he was able to turn
his handicap to his advantage, and, instead of rebelling
against it, to learn from it the invaluable lesson of
accepting himself as he was. Consequently, he was not
saddled with the tremendous burden that many of us bear
throughout our lives, of trying to be something that we
aren't. Having accepted himself, he did not have to prove
anything to himself or to anyone else, and he was therefore
free just to be himself.
Equally important, that same acceptance of himself and of
his circumstances freed him from the black pits of self
pity, anger, jealousy, and negativity, that too often engulf
us in darkness and sap the sweetness and joy out of life.
Isn't it profound that in his crippling deformity, he found
wholeness, and in his weakness, strength? As he said, God
made him small so that he could be like the kids he loved.
He was indeed one of God's giants.
---
Word: My dear child, you have always wanted to be tall, but
you are not, for that is not the way I formed you. I did
want you to be tall, but as you are. You have come to accept
this, for it is obvious that only a fool would waste time
trying to make himself tall, or worrying because he is not.
Why, then, do you try so hard in other ways to be what you
are not, or not to be what you are, for not only is this
foolhardy and deceptive, but it is the source of much of
your frustration and unhappiness. Furthermore,
self-acceptance is the key to the deep root of anger that
has plagued you throughout your life, and of which you so
want to be free. Be encouraged, my son, for you shall have
what you desire when you desire it with an all your heart.
Stephen B. Elmer buzz@c4.net