If I have learned anything in my life, it is that the normative is change; not status quo. Whatever people plan, they “must” be ready to expect the unexpected and to do what is necessary to take care of the new direction. If one doesn’t, he or she may discover that life runs in circles rather than towards an objective or a goal.
Earlier this week, I planned to visit an elderly widow whose finances I handle and who I represent on behalf of two sons who live about 400 miles away. An hour and half before my arrival time, I received a panicked call from a caregiver that the widow was profusely bleeding and needed to see her doctor who was not responding or go to the emergency room. She had reached out to her two sons to no avail and I was next on the call list. In addition to that, the widow, who is 96, was crying to me that she didn’t want to leave.
I contacted the management of the facility where she lives and asked them to go to her room to assess the situation and call me when they had while I dried off from my shower and got dressed. Fifteen minutes later I talked with the residence manager who agreed with the caregiver and would call the paramedics for a pickup. I arrived to see her just before she was put in the ambulance and told her I would meet her at the hospital.
It was a half hour before I could see the widow as the ER was filled with incoming patients in the waiting room and out the door where the ambulances parked to deliver those in need. The doctor had briefly seen her and wanted to run some blood tests which she refused to have so they were going to release her. In about 10 minutes, I was able to convince the widow to get the tests and we were shuffled off to an open space in an aisle.
In the next two hours I stood by the portable bed she was in trying to console a woman who was confused, scared and angry about being in a hospital as opposed to her “home.” The irony in this is that she was a registered nurse who spent most of her time in the ER, surgery and training and supervising nurses. She thought the nurses were not following proper protocol in taking care of those who were with her. Amazing what perception looks like from the other side as a patient.
The doctor returned with a diagnosis that recommended a medical procedure with her staying overnight in the hospital and having it done early the next morning. She said no, and the sons who I had contacted by now agreed. All I could do was return her home in my car and arrange for the caregivers to watch her for the next four hours until the night caregiver came to tuck her in for bed. The sons thanked me for being there and asked me to send them an e-mail with an assessment of the situation for future use. My response was that it was a privilege to be of service to a woman I have known for 30 years in her time of need.
I share this story as a reminder to myself that I must always be ready to respond to God’s call to serve those in need and in hopes that you will be able to discover in your heart where God is calling you to serve.
What does all of this have to do with our readings and Gospel this weekend? In the reading from Deuteronomy, Moses tells the Israelites that God is there for them (and us as well) when we call upon Him. To say the least, in silence I prayed to God about this situation that I could be of help.
In the Letter from St. James, he writes: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Though I did not complete my morning prayers, I believe God will forgive me because of the situation.
Finally, in St. Mark’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that our hearts must be one with God if we are to follow God’s ways and fulfill the call by our Baptism to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and to love all that God has created as Jesus loves us.
Though the above is an extreme example of what can happen to a plan gone awry, it is a great reminder that we need to be ready for the uncertainties of life. God must always be allowed as the primary witness of our hearts in that we take seriously the purpose for which we are created: To serve God and all that He has created.
Let us search our hearts this week to see what situations we have in our lives that may call us to be present to those in need. In doing so, hopefully, we will find strength to take action that will change all of us for the better.
Reading 1: Deuteronomy 4: 1-2, 6-8
Reading 2: James 1: 17-18, 21b-22, 27
Gospel: Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15,21-23
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