*Warning - this post may seem to be a bit more of a downer than usual.*
I sat in the hospital room with my mother listening to her tell me about her night. I wanted to block out all of her discomfort and pain, all of her frustration. I wanted to block out the phone conversation she'd had the night before she ended up in the hospital. The call came at 10:30 that night. I know the motive behind the conversation. It is always the same. It creates worry in my mom about things she can't do anything about. It worries her that my sister paints such a horrible picture of her life, her daughter's life and her grandchildren's life. She lays this burden on my mom. My mom gives advice that she knows will go unheeded. It is always followed by my mom telling her to put the problems in God's hands. Then my mom goes to bed stressed and worried all night.
I walked out of my mom's hospital room today with her preacher. He hugged me and asked how I was doing. I told him I was hanging in there and just wanted my mom to get better. I know that eventually things will get worse with her health and she will leave us. However, I would like to keep her around a while longer. I told the pastor about my sister's phone call. I asked him, "How do you block your sister?" He told me I can't, but I can monitor things and take control of my mom's phone.
I would love to block all of the things that cause my mom stress. I would love to block the pain and illness she is going through. I can't anymore than anyone else can block the bad things that happen in their lives. Besides, if we block everything out, how can we ever hope to raise people up. Blocks are walls we build. They may start out tiny and continue to grow. Maybe we need to learn how to deal with those negative things that block our relationship with God and others. Maybe then we will know true happiness.
I sat in the hospital room with my mother listening to her tell me about her night. I wanted to block out all of her discomfort and pain, all of her frustration. I wanted to block out the phone conversation she'd had the night before she ended up in the hospital. The call came at 10:30 that night. I know the motive behind the conversation. It is always the same. It creates worry in my mom about things she can't do anything about. It worries her that my sister paints such a horrible picture of her life, her daughter's life and her grandchildren's life. She lays this burden on my mom. My mom gives advice that she knows will go unheeded. It is always followed by my mom telling her to put the problems in God's hands. Then my mom goes to bed stressed and worried all night.
I walked out of my mom's hospital room today with her preacher. He hugged me and asked how I was doing. I told him I was hanging in there and just wanted my mom to get better. I know that eventually things will get worse with her health and she will leave us. However, I would like to keep her around a while longer. I told the pastor about my sister's phone call. I asked him, "How do you block your sister?" He told me I can't, but I can monitor things and take control of my mom's phone.
I would love to block all of the things that cause my mom stress. I would love to block the pain and illness she is going through. I can't anymore than anyone else can block the bad things that happen in their lives. Besides, if we block everything out, how can we ever hope to raise people up. Blocks are walls we build. They may start out tiny and continue to grow. Maybe we need to learn how to deal with those negative things that block our relationship with God and others. Maybe then we will know true happiness.
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