Is there no balm in Gilead...?

The conversation went something like this:
Dad: "Will you do the dishes just once while you're here? It will be your payment for staying with us these two weeks."
Me: "Do you have gloves?"
Dad: "Yes, look in the closet there. See, a whole box."
Me: Observes that there is a full box of latex, powder-less gloves. "Yep. I'll do them sometime."


"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child" (Jeremiah 1:5-6).

No wonder Jeremiah said he could not speak: he was living among a people that had completely and utterly rejected their God, a people so corrupt and proud that they failed to see the pending doom of Babylonian captivity. The children of Israel, God's chosen people, had defiled the temple, abandoned their covenants, and turned to follow heathen gods. For this reason God sent them Jeremiah; in all His wisdom and foreknowledge, God ordained a prophet to turn them to repentance and salvation. And Jeremiah did speak, and spoke he so well that a literary form was named after him: the Jeremiad.

The pattern of prophets being called and then focusing on their weaknesses and inadequacies is rampant. Moses said almost exactly what Jeremiah said; Jonah ran away; Joshua, who had to follow the footsteps of Moses, did not know if he could handle the whiny, disobedient Israelites; Gideon hid when he was called; Paul was an enemy to Christ; Peter denied the Lord; etc., etc. Perhaps there is a lesson in this: all these men became great, so great they converted thousands, bringing so many of God's children to salvation.

But this isn't what I am interested in. I am interested in the prophecies of Jeremiah and his pleas to Israel to repent lest their loving God destroy them in an act of mercy: dead people cannot sin. Early in his prophecies, Jeremiah says that the time for repentance is past. Israel is so far gone into the darkness that they cannot see the light: "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved....Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?" (Jeremiah 8:22).


I'm making dinner. I put on the latex-free, powder-free gloves and cut up the chicken. It goes into the pan and I put the knife and cutting board in the sink, throwing away the gloves. A new pair of gloves. As the meat cooks, I cut up the veggies (tonight dinner is fajitas). Then I put that cutting board in the sink with the knife, throwing away the gloves. Gloves free I get the seasoning ready (a homemade mix of spices and fruit juices; if I juice the fruit myself, I don gloves again). Then I get the cookies ready. A glove goes on a hand when I crack the egg. Off goes the glove and the egg shell goes with it into the garbage (I bought a garbage can you can open with one of those levers at the bottom; 30 bucks for that thing; ridiculous!). Once the dough is ready, I put on gloves again or use two spoons (I've gotten good at the two spoons thing) to put the dough on the pans. Soon enough dinner is ready, and I eat the fajitas gloves free while the cookies bake.

Clean-up: I put on gloves and grab Clorox wipes to wipe down the kitchen counter and stove. I use gloves to wash the dishes and put them in the dishwasher (it's a crappy dishwasher; even when I pre-wash stuff it still comes out dirty sometimes). I wipe down the sink and facet. Done. The gloves go in the garbage.


Jeremiah's second question answers the first: yes, there is balm, or at least there is a physician. If that is so, why haven't the people been healed? Jeremiah's (actually, it's the Lord speaking here) not talking about physical healing. The Israelites are spiritually sick. Who is their physician, what is their balm? Jehovah, their rejected God, of course, and His arms of mercy, His Atonement that their law (Law of Moses) was supposed to point them to. Jesus Christ came to save the sick; after all, the whole need no physician (that's in the New Testament somewhere). Why are they sick? Well, the harvest is past, the summer ended. The children of Israel have a terminal illness: they have eczema. Yes, they have that red, scaly, flaking, inflamed, itchy, bloody condition where the body's immune system becomes the body's enemy.


I didn't know what it was; I just knew that my hands were dry, cracked, bleeding, and itchy beyond belief. The first doctor did tell me what it was; she said it was a rash and gave me an expensive ($25 for 1 oz.) ointment to put on. The ointment did nothing. The second doctor told me it was eczema. Ah, finally a name! He gave me a cheap steroid cream ($1-4 for 1 oz), some surgical gloves, and a list of instructions:

1. Use the following incredibly expensive creams and lotions that are clinically proven to relieve symptoms.
2. Take a bath every other day or once a week or never, if you can stand it.
3. Use these particular brands of soap.
4. Never wash your hands. Ever.
5. Immediately after bathing apply expensive creams the lotions and keep applying every hour.
6. Never actually use the steroid cream because steroid creams are evil and can cause permanent damage to your skin.
   
7. Etc.

I eventually learned the following:

1. Just because something is incredibly expensive and says it is clinically proven to relieve symptoms doesn't mean that it actually does. I went through about ten brands before I finally (about a month ago) discovered two brands that actually do help with the itching and inflammation. Most of those on the top of the doctor's list actually made the inflammation worse!
   
2. Seriously? I bathe everyday. End of story.
3. This one I actually have found helpful. I already used the brand the doctor recommended (Dove), and I found a hand-soap designed for sensitive skin.
4. Now you know why I use gloves for everything; I never have to wash my hands. I sometimes even take showers with gloves on (I haven't thought about using the toilet with gloves...).
5. Did you know there is a difference between a cream and a lotion? I've learned all kinds of stuff about creams and lotions since I was diagnosed. Creams are better if you want something to stay on the skin longer; lotions absorb quickly. In a way, lotions are watered down versions of creams. I usually use a cream after bathing and then use lotion the rest of day.
6. I use the steroid cream at night occasionally, but it's annoying. I have to wear gloves when I put it on so the cream doesn't get in my eyes or other sensitive areas.
7. I've forgotten or ignored the other stuff. I can't find the paper the doctor gave me (it's been three years now). I've just learned what works for me.

Eczema is a condition with an unknown cause where the body's immune system reacts to something foreign. The itching and redness and scaliness and cracks, etc., are all symptoms of the unknown underlying cause. It can be constant or can "flare up" when the skin comes in contact with certain things. I have eczema only on my hands.

For me, my eczema flares up under the following conditions: when I wash my hands; when I use harsh chemicals (like laundry detergent, bleach, or even shampoo, yes); when my hands come in contact with certain kinds of water, particularly hard water (living in Lubbock, TX, has not helped this at all; I crave the wonder of soft water); when it's winter; when it gets cold (my hands itch more when my body temperature is the lowest in the morning); and many other times. Creams and lotions help, but there is no cure. There is no balm in Gilead.


What is the balm of Gilead? In ancient times, the balm of Gilead was a special balm used to treat illnesses (including rashes and skin disorders) and must have been effective because it was a hot commodity. The men who bought Joseph of Egypt were coming from Gilead with this balm to sell in Egypt. The balm became a symbol of healing.

Eczema is a lot like sin. It flares up when it comes in contact with certain negative things and it is terminal. Sin happens when we place ourselves in bad situations, and it is something we will never escape from (not in this life, at least). I can only deal with the symptoms of eczema: there is an unknown underlying cause that makes my skin itchy and red and scaly and cracked. We, alone, can only do so much about sin. When we make a mistake we can apologize and repent, but the itching comes back. For the Israelites, they ignored the warnings of their physician, of their prophets and God, and they continued to the point when their hands were so disfigured that they had to be cut off. Eczema can lead to worse things: infection and even death if not cared for.


I sit here now and feel the burning of my hands, that terrible burning of eczema. I have found no balm to heal. Until my body is resurrected and perfect I will ever have eczema. As a daughter of Eve, I must live in a world where the effects of a fallen, sin-filled world are everywhere. There is no escape in this life; yes, we can turn to God and have faith in the Atonement and we can find peace, but the effects of sin cannot be cured and the peace will always be temporary until Jehovah returns. Then, then, there will be balm in Gilead.