A Healed Femur

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.                                                                 Psalm 147:3

“A healed femur.” That was the response to a question posed to famed anthropologist Margaret Mead when she was asked about the first signs of a civilized society. She stated that a healed femur showed evidence of a society that cared for the feeble and injured among themselves. In a society where a member had a serious injury, such as a broken long leg bone, the femur, they would need care to survive. They could not hunt or gather, or be much help to the rest of the group, so an uncivilized society would cast them out or leave them for dead.

But a caring, civilized society would help to feed and care for the wounded among them. Thus, evidence of a healed femur meant that those around that victim had worked to save them and restore them to health.

We take such care for granted, and I trust that such compassion remains a standard in a society that seems to be drifting toward less care for one another.

Prayer: Lord, continue to remind us of our duty to care for one another, Amen.