Just a Thought, Not a Sermon: Really (Mark 5:25-34)

Some years before I decided to enter the military Chaplaincy I decided I
wanted a year’s worth of clinical pastoral training in a psychiatric
setting. I figured it would be a cinch, after all I had spent almost 4 years
in a psychiatric/social work setting in the Army. On my first day of
training I was given a briefing, a set of keys and the task of finding some
patients to talk with. I thought “REALLY is that it?!” I was immediately
out of my comfort zone. Under my breath I was screaming HELP! don’t
leave me alone with these crazy people. I might be able to offer Jesus,
but the patients certainly had nothing to offer me. After all, they were
crazy, they lived in a mumble-jumble world that didn’t make sense to
me. They didn’t make sense to anyone, that’s why they were residents
in a psychiatric hospital.

In my wandering the hospital grounds one afternoon, I encountered a
young lady who was sitting on a bench by herself. I thought it would be
safe enough to just sit there with her and strike up a conversation. After
some uncomfortable moments, she finally told me her name, “Dorothy”.
Dorothy would talk for a few minutes, give me a big smile, then pass gas,
then she would laugh. She would talk some more, doing it all over again.
In layman’s terms, she certainly was crazy, never making sense. You
know after a while she became a good friend. REALLY! Dorothy had
become institutionalized having been there over 20 years. Her parents
placed her in the hospital because she was always misbehaving.

Some months later, I received a call from the medical unit, Dorothy had
been hospitalized with congestive heart failure, she didn’t have much
longer to live. I went to see Dorothy, expecting the “crazy Dorothy” I
had come to know.

As I stood next to her bed, Dorothy looked at me with a clear mind and
said, Hi Chaplain. I was surprised! I was not in the presence of “crazy
Dorothy” but a beautiful young lady, a Dorothy, who had a pleasant
smile.

I offered to pray with her as I held her hand. She asked me if I thought
God loved her? She wanted to know if she was going to be able to meet
Jesus in heaven? I told her she would be holding hands with Jesus
today, and we prayed. She held my hand tightly and after the prayer she
didn’t want to let go. I was her connection to Jesus. Dorothy passed
away later that evening.

The lesson I have carried with me all these years has been that
sometimes people need to hold your hand because you are the only
connection they have to feel the presence of Jesus. Touching is life
giving, if not here, then in the presence of Christ. REALLY!!

Just a Thought, Not a Sermon