While reflecting on this month, an image came to mind that I thought I might share as a backdrop for how life often seems here. The image/scene is of a child approaching a pool/body of water for the first time. The child might start far away from the water’s edge, watching and observing and with time make tentative steps to the edge. With each new experience, new things are learned, and likely the child will take steps backwards, maybe after an unexpected splash or some other new thing. Eventually the child puts a foot in the water and sits near the edge, they observe how other children can jump in and swim like fish. And they wonder, maybe I can do that too. But still, fear or wisdom keeps them from jumping right in. Until the child realizes, hey, Dad’s here with me. If I ask him, he will hold me. I can enjoy the water in the safety of his embrace. I think this sums up our month well – lots of unexpected splashes, but also realization of how secure we can truly be in the water. I started visiting some local hospital waiting rooms to try to visit with people. I wasn’t sure how to just sit next to the ladies and chat, but then a lady did that to me, so I knew it wasn’t too weird. I have continued going, each time taking a few steps closer to the waters edge. When I sit next to a lady or try to initiate a conversation, I leave with a sense of accomplishment. A heart request for me was to visit an actual patient that I knew. This week a friend of ours got sick and went to this specific hospital that I had frequented. We went to visit her. It wasn’t exactly a happy occasion as she needed immediate surgery, but she came through surgery well and is back home. I really felt like the child in the water with Dad’s arms around me.
From a worker in a new area