Common to Man

A few weeks ago, in Connecticut, a chimpanzee named Travis attacked the friend of his owner and nearly killed her, ripping her face off and requiring her to need a face transplant. His owner, Sandra Herold, had to stab him to get him to stop, and then he was finally shot by police. The story made national headlines for several days, and as details began to come out about the relationship between Sandra and Travis, the story became even more bizarre. As it turns out Sandra's daughter and husband are both dead, and she and Travis had a very close relationship. Stories about them snuggling in bed together, taking baths together, Sandra serving Travis wine in stemmed glasses, Travis brushing Sandra's hair, made for some very uncomfortable moments as news anchors had to try and transition from this story to the other news of the day.

The more I listened to this story, the more my heart was broken for Sandra Herold. But not because I considered her some demented woman who deserved my pity for having a mental break or not being able to deal with the grief of losing her daughter and husband. Instead, I saw in Sandra myself. On some level, like me, Sandra longed for community, she longed for someone to be there for her, and instead of turning to Christ, she turned to a chimp. Crazy? Well, maybe, and I'd probably love to throne stones of scorn and ridicule at her, but the path to the rockpile is blocked by all the things that I turn to instead of Christ that are just as ridiculous.

Here's the thing: we are all longing for something in life, and we all have painkillers that we turn to to numb us up when we don't get that longing fulfilled. For some people it could be their spouse, for some it's academics, work for others, food for some, shopping, sex, suicide, pornography, sports, etc. I've got mine as well, my own little "medicine chest" full of things that I look to for comfort when life gets too hard and to confusing, and while mine might be more common than Sandra's was and more accepted by society, when you peel back the layers, they are just as pathetic and just as sad.

I hope and pray there's someone around her who will reach out and point Sandra to the one thing, the one person who actually can fulfill her and meet her needs. If not, I can send her some of the things I turn to so often. Unfortunately, I've got plenty to spare.