In Memoriam: Alexis

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”                         Psalm116:15

Last week, our department lost a graduate student to an eating disorder. Alexis was a cheerful, bright and attractive Christian. She successfully defended her dissertation in June.

I first met her in 2008 and she was dreadfully thin and obviously suffering from an eating disorder then. She only got worse over the last three years. I had a student in her research group as a TA, also a Christian, and we discussed what could be done for her. I contacted the uni’s hotline for her, but she only got thinner.

The Things We Can't Talk About

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

I Corinthians 13:12

Have you ever thought about how, even though we live in a free country, there are many things that we just can’t talk about?

I’m not just talking about “religion and politics” or politically correct speech, though those are certainly a large part of it. There are many things that we cannot or should not reveal about ourselves or discuss with others.

Some health ailments, we are taught, have taboos associated with them, so don’t discuss them, even if you are concerned about the health of someone who obviously has one. Are you considering looking for a new job? Better keep quiet or be very careful. Family history should be “kept in the family.” Trade secrets are just that, secret. And so on.