Information vs. Understanding

 A difference….

Information tells us what.

Understanding helps us discern why.

A few years ago, as my own health started becoming more challenging,…well, something weird was going that no one could seem to figure out. 

As I struggled, I found myself saying the same thing over and over:

“Alex cannot be compromised because I currently am.”

That seemed straightforward to me.

My concern was not simply that I needed help.

My concern was that Alex’s health, stability, routines, and quality of life should not suffer because I was struggling physically.

Yet some of the responses surprised me.

Suggestions were made that seemed to focus on relocating Alex rather than understanding what was actually keeping him healthy. Actually, that was a repeated suggestion. 

That experience taught me something important.

Sometimes when we only look at the surface, we see a problem.

When we dig deeper, we discover the cause.

Alex has remained healthy for more than twenty years not because his situation is simple, but because there has been extraordinary continuity, consistency, and understanding behind his care.

The deeper I dug into medicine, policy, systems, and our own records, the more I realized that many answers are found underneath the first explanation.

Keep asking why.

Keep learning.

Keep digging.

Information tells us what.

Understanding helps us discern why.

And wisdom helps us know what to do next.

#TheGoalIsLife

Proverbs 2:1-5

2 My son, if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
    and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.