Wednesday, January 16, 2008

When all hope is lost, God still remains.

To my readers, I'm going to go ahead and apologize for the fact that it seems I've been posting some pretty depressing posts here recently. I promise after this next one, I'll try to post more lighthearted ones. Deal?

Earlier this week I met with a patient at work and could sense something was wrong. If I hadn't taken the time to really determine what was wrong, I would have merely brushed off her pithy responses as an 'attitude problem.' I'm so thankful that I moved beyond my first impression of her. She had mentioned that she had been recently discharged from the hospital only last weekend.

The Holy Spirit nudged me and pointed out her hurt. I could tell she was fragile, as if struggling not to cry. I left her for a few minutes and while back in my office searched for a scripture verse to hand her. I chose Romans 8:28 (NLT), "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." As I went back in to see her, I prayed for courage and faith that God would work in this tiny moment. I gingerly held the verse in my hand wondering how exactly to preface this gift.

I looked her in the eyes and said, "Ma'am, I can tell you're hurting. And I don't know what you're going through, but I know that God does." Tears began rolling down her cheeks.

"He sees your hurt and He loves you. I'd like to give you this verse, and I want you to know that He knows exactly what you're dealing with."

I passed her some Kleenex while she thanked me through tears. We left the room and walked quietly together to the lobby where I wished her a happy 2008.

It was only minutes after I left her in the lobby, that I discovered she had been admitted to the hospital last week for attempting suicide. It had also not been her first attempt either. Immediately, tears welled up in my eyes. I prayed thanking God for blessing me with the opportunity of encouraging her and God-willing, letting her know that she has Hope. When all hope is lost, God still remains.

I'd like to end this post with an anecdote I heard several months ago that I've never forgotten:

Dr. Jerome Motto recounts a particularly sobering bridge suicide occurring sometime in the 1970s. "I went to this guy's apartment afterward with the assistant medical examiner… The guy was in his thirties, lived alone, pretty bare apartment. He'd written a note and left it on his bureau. It said, 'I'm going to walk to the bridge. If one person smiles at me on the way, I will not jump.'"

One smile, one “hello”, one door held open might not save someone’s life. But it might.

5 comments:

Deanna said...

Thanks for sharing that today. I needed to hear it. Sometimes I find it easier to be kind to strangers and then when it comes to family members and people close to me, I struggle with sharing the love of Jesus. I want to do both. I admire your boldness to share the verse. So many times we give the quick, "oh, I will pray for you." What a blessing to this lady that you did something real and right there. Go You! Do you work with a Christian agency that you are free to do this? If not, does your employer give you the freedom to share. Yay for them!

Megan at My Heart, My Home said...

Deanna, I do not work for a Christian agency, but for an outpatient facility of a large hospital. So whether or not what I did was legal or not, I have no clue. :)

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this wonderful post...I stumbled across this when I was struggling with my job loss and although it seems trivial...my refrigerator just died and I have spend the last 4 hours trying to fix it to no avail...it is 2:30am and I need to Trust in the Lord as I know I should...keep on doing what you do. God will bless you as you bless others

Dave

Megan at My Heart, My Home said...

Dave, I don't believe in coincidences, so I do know that God somehow led you, even if it was 'stumbling' ;) to this post. I'm glad it could be an encouragement to you. These words echo for everyone. Ironically, sometimes it's the little things like a broken fridge versus a major crisis that leave me more hopeless. I pray that God will bring you a job in His time, and that you would have the patience and trust that He will. God bless you! And thanks for stopping by!

Chamie thethirteenth said...

I lost everything from my mom sister and wife I am homeless and broke but I believe in "GOD" though I suffer