Over the past couple weeks I had the opportunity to learn, maybe re-learn, a powerful lesson that I want to share with you.
Since Sunday, November 15th, I have been dealing with the after-affects of a concussion. As you might already know, on that Sunday afternoon the lid of my recycling can was blown by 70 mph winds so hard that it struck me in the right side of the head as I tried to stand it back up. Fortunately I did not lose consciousness. However, the resulting blow caused me to face some significant issues. Happily, I can report that CT scan that they did showed no brain injury or skull damage.
I was going to have to take my time over the next few weeks as I healed. I would lean on Jennifer, JonMark, and Emma—a lot.
Headaches, double vision, nauseous moments, lightheadedness, they all came and went. I felt shaky at times and stumbled a bit. . . (okay maybe I stumbled around a lot). I almost cried a bit as well for no reason. But I am healing and God is with me as I reflect with you. Your prayers, and your support, as my church family has been a constant companion as I laid in a dark room for days on end wishing that I could go back to the way things were.
It was a helpless feeling to lay in dark for such a great amount of time. My constant companions of Luna and Bianca kept a close watch on me, but dogs can only do so much besides snore. I listened to an audiobook when I felt strong enough to do so. And my favorite podcast as well. But more often than not, for hours on end, it was just me. . . in the dark. . . hoping to heal . . . and not knowing when that would happen.
Now to the lesson that I learned, or maybe re-learned. My favorite author wrote these words that I remembered as I was living in the dark. He said:
“Ministry is staying with people as they face the hardest things in their lives and not walking away when there’s nothing to say.”
It is the last part of that sentence that spoke to me. “Not walking away when there’s nothing to say.” Part of my calling, and part of our calling as the church, is to ’say something’ when the hard stuff of life comes. But there I was, in the dark, and there was nothing to say. No way to frame what I was living through. No aspirational offerings. I knew the words of our faith. I have a deep relationship with the One who heals all things in His way. But all I felt I could do, for over two weeks, was just ‘be.’ I could not phrase prayers that were anything more than ’shopping lists of needs.’ So 'being there’ was the best that I could muster.
So I wonder, as we are halfway through Advent, who do you know that is living through something hard, something challenging, something painful? I wonder if you walk away from those moments, or do you dwell with them? Do you say nothing but instead choose to abide? I can make all the difference if you stay in that moment with that person. . . believe me I know.
Blessings
Rev. Derek
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