Triage

Triage comes from a French word meaning “sorting” or “sifting.” This term became a part of our English lexicon during World War I when battlefield medical personnel needed to determine how to allocate limited resources among large numbers of casualties. Protocols were developed to provide treatment and care for those wounded soldiers most likely to benefit. Over time, the usage of triage broadened to include a prioritization of time, resources, and money to provide the greatest benefit.

I recently had an occasion to do some triage in my photography. While at Catalina State Park in southern Arizona, I was setting up to photograph a beautiful, delicate red wildflower when a man who’d passed me on the trail a short time before approached me and asked, “Would you like to see a horny toad?” I quickly replied, “Photographing a horny toad trumps a fairy duster.” I gathered up my equipment and followed the man up the path to where he’d come upon a horned lizard.

To date, this is the only encounter I’ve ever had with this species.

Triage, or prioritizing, is also important in the life of faith. James, John, and their dad were working in their boat on their fishing nets when Jesus called the two brothers to be his disciples. Immediately they left their boat, their livelihood, and their dad to follow Jesus. (See Matthew 4:21-22.)

Reading about James and John’s experience with the Master reminds me I need to daily examine my priorities to make sure I’m using my time, energy, talents, and resources to do what Jesus calls me to do.