Wonderings--March 22

Following my morning scripture reading from Matthew, I picked up a book that I have been reading and read the next chapter. It was a short chapter and easy to read but the 'call' of the chapter is still with me as I think about Jesus' words in the Matthew. 

Let me paraphrase the story briefly that I read from Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories that Heal. 

The main character in our story, Jessie, suffered from a temporary obstruction in her bowel. This produced in her tremendous pain, severe pain, that lasted for a day. As the pain began to spike in Jessie, she realized that something was wrong, so she packed a bag and headed toward the hospital. This seems like a sensible choice, one that you and I might make also. 

The author of this book asked Jessie how she managed to drive because the pain was so severe, so debilitating? 

The response was shocking. . . Jessie would pull over when the pain was too great and wait for it to pass. A time or two she vomited because of this pain. Yet she still drove herself, alone, for the 25 miles that it took to get to the hospital. 

The author asks Jessie, "Why didn't you call a friend to take you to the hospital?"

"It was the middle of the day," Jessie said, "They are all at work. Besides, none of my friends know a thing about intestinal obstructions." 

Our author pressed onward: "Then why not call me! I am a doctor." 

"Well, it's really not your field either," Jessis said matter of factly. 

"Jessie," the author says, "even children instinctively run to others when the fall down." 

With a great deal of heat in her face Jessie said, "Yes, I've never understood that. It's so silly. Kissing the boo-boo doest help the pain at all." Our story comes to its high point in the author's final words: 

"It doesn't help the pain, it helps the loneliness."

As I have said many times, pain comes in all shapes, sizes, and degrees. It sneaks upon us and has an ability to isolate us from one another. We can feel like we are the only ones who feel the way that we do in that moment. . . How many times have you heard, or said, "No one understands how bad this is."

But sharing what we struggle with, sharing how it feels to us, can help us to be unified one to another. This  sharing can also help us in our relationship with God. We know that he (Jesus) shared all of our experiences and emotions. We know that he empathizes with us in this. 

So I wonder today if there is a way, or a moment, that you can share with another person? Perhaps that sharing will be more impactful than you first realized? 

Blessings

Rev. Derek