Work It

Sometimes I have lots on my mind. I'm worried about this or that, preoccupied with what I said or didn't say, planning for this project or that. Then I meet a patient or family who pull me back. I hear their story and I realized these folks are putting their faith to work - and somethin' fierce. They have to.

She met me in the hallway of the critical care unit after visiting with her brother who had just come out of "repair the hole in the lung" (how in the world do you do that?) surgery. The nurse said that he'd be "on vacation" for a day or so while he recuperates, so don't expect much activity out of him. I asked her what's going on.

In our discussion, she shares with me more and more about her situation:

• three weeks ago the brother had been in the trauma bay for a broken arm from a bicycle ride, this lung puncture had occurred then but only recently diagnosed


• their mother had just been admited as an inpatient from the EC, having just experienced severe shortness of breath and complications from lung cancer


• her brother's children are currently grief-stricken by the death of their mother's mother - the wake will be tomorrow and the funeral the day after


• last year her husband had been in an accident, received a hip replacement and she was his main care giver. Last month, he fell off a ladder during a painting job and his leg was broken in several places. Between the hip and the leg he needs her constant care


• on the friday before the hip replacement, the storm that blew through the town flattened three trees onto her house


• her work is requiring her to put out 115% productivity and so she's on mandatory overtime

I look in her solid brown eyes. She looks back at me with a sigh. "What gets you through this?" I ask. "The Lord," she smiled. She shares how it's her faith that God will be with her through all this. She shares how she surrenders each day to how God's creating something new.

She's workin' it... and meanwhile she ministered to me.

We're not in charge of how you live out the faith, looking over your shoulders, suspiciously critical. We're partners, working alongside you, joyfully expectant. I know that you stand by your own faith, not by ours. 2 Corinthians 1:23-24

How are you workin' it in this moment?