What do the maxillary sinus, God, and the bathroom sink have in common? Well, stick around and let's find out! I was reading an article* the other day on sinus lifts. This is a procedure commonly done to increase the amount of maxillary bone in the bicuspid-molar area in order to better support a dental implant. The picture above shows the maxillary sinuses** right below the orbits of the eye***. The connection of the sinus to the nasal cavity is a small tunnel called the ostium (see diagram) which, as you can see, is located about 3/4 of the way up the side of the sinus. Here's a question: Why is it located so high up on the wall if we want our sinuses to drain when they get stuffy or infected? Is this a design flaw that God overlooked?
Amateur rendering of impacted sinus
In fact, some advocate making a small opening further down, right at the base of the floor of the nasal cavity to help the sinus drain and reduce the chance of infection. Is this a good idea? Let's see.
*Sidetrail #1: The picture I lifted from the article written by Sheldon Lerner, an outstanding periodontist and educator.
**Sidetrail #2: There's a bunch of sinuses, or hollow spaces, in the skull, all interconnected with each other and the nasal cavity. Our concern is with the maxillary sinus. Why do we have them? It's commonly thought that they lighten the skull significantly, serve to help speech resonance, and regulate humidity and temperature (along with the nasal cavity) of the air we breathe. I realize this is more than you probably want to know, but there's more! It has recently been theorized that the cells lining the the sinuses produce NO, or nitric oxide, which serves as a potent antimicrobial in healthy sinuses.
***Sidetrail #3: This is a view looking straight at a cross section of the skull.
Here's a sink (not ours, by the way). Now a sink is designed to drain out the bottom (duh). But if the drain gets clogged up**** the water will rise up the sink until it hits the overflow drain, just about where God put the drain in the sinus! It happens that the extra drain that is sometimes place in the bottom of the sinus is particularly susceptible to clogging and infection and actually seems to increase sinus problems! So how did God work around this situation? The lining of the sinuses contains two kinds of cells: One type produces mucous (uck!) and the other has a tiny hair-like appendage called a cilia. The cilia wave back and forth and carry the mucous and any foreign particles like dust and bacteria up the walls of the sinus and out the ostium. Cool, huh?
****Sidetrail #4: Think a family of girls and all that hair!
So it's not a design flaw after all, but an elegant way to keep the sinuses clear and healthy. So, WHAT'S MY POINT?
In Lerner's article he mentioned that it appears the Creator knew what he was doing when he designed the sinus. What, you thought I came up with this parallel? But as I thought about it, Isaiah 55:8 came to mind.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." So God had this all figured out ahead of time, just as he has EVERYTHING figured out. Sometimes we get going along in our lives and think we know what we need to do and how we need to do it. Sometimes we forget that God has provided the road map and instructions to interpret it and so we go blindly on our way in our pride and drill a hole in the bottom of the sinus and try to do it our way*****.
*****Sidetrail #5: A mixed metaphor, I know.
I won't deny it, the map is kind of confusing at times and I think that is the way it is supposed to be. If we just go from point A straight to point Z, then we miss out points B, C, D, etc., and miss the journey that is life. If we saw the route clearly then our faith in God would never develop and our own personal growth would be severely stunted (see Satan's plan). Sometimes we make that hole in the bottom of the sinus with the best of intentions and God will use that as tool to teach us that maybe the problem is already solved, we just have to study the map or the anatomy of the sinus or the scriptures a little more to discover for ourselves the solution.
Now, I've rambled on enough about this so I'll just conclude with a final scripture:
Proverbs 3:5-6
Easier said than done.
P.S. Andy stresses a valuable point in the comments.
3 comments:
D&C 9 also says to study it out in your mind and if it be right... So in some sense we look at the map, study it out, ask the Lord, then go forward with what we feel is right and what the Lord wants of us. Our own understanding does seem to play a role at times.
I am thinking that I will never hear an analogy like this one in General Conference. I enjoyed reading it - mostly.
Andy, I think your scriptural reference is spot on. I've edited the post slightly to refer to your comment. Thanks.
I hope I didn't give the impression we should just blindly rely on the Lord for ALL direction. We should, however, acknowledge him in all things.
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