Another Way

It is astounding how quickly the nonessentials of life are stripped away during times of crisis. Suddenly the to-do list gets very short, very quickly. Instantly soccer practice, vacuuming the living room, making cookies for your son’s class party is gone, and all that is left: survive. Somehow make it through. I’m sure many of you know what this stripping is like. When your world goes from the crazy-but-beautiful-pinterest-inspired life to a nightmare you never dreamed possible.

Some of you bounce between these two settings all the time. You live forever between the two worlds. All is well and in just one fever, one scan, one seizure the nightmare starts again. Others of you woke to the nightmare years ago and have lived there ever since. The diagnosis came, the accident happened and this now is your life.

A Warning

My friends, I write this to you who have been schooled in the art of minimalism. Those who have learned how to time and time again strip away all that is nonessential in life. I am writing with a warning and a plea. Because you see, when life turns upside down it is natural to let go of all that does not appear immediately necessary. You eat and you sleep (sort of). You care for your child and you do what is necessary to survive.

And here’s the truth, this would work. This would be all that was necessary were you just a body and nothing more. Were you just a sum total of cells and organs you could strip down to the bare physical needs and assume you had enough to make it through whatever crisis you now face. But you are not. Like it or not, you are both body and soul. Physical and spiritual. Survival depends on meeting the basic, most elemental needs of both. And the truth is, in times of crisis, spiritual needs are often the first to go.

Stay with Me Here

Now before you begin to roll your eyes and scroll away in disbelief that I would dare to shove one more weight on your already stooping shoulders, I beg you to hear me out. You see, I know what life is like in the hospital setting. I know what it is to function on a whisker of sleep and 100% adrenalin and I know what it is to be unable to attend church services weeks and weeks on end (and I knew this before there was such a thing as “virtual services.”).

I know what it is to feel isolated, cut-off and irrelevant. But I also know that our Savior said at the moment of His great testing, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” I know that to Him the need for spiritual nourishment equaled that of the physical. It is a must. It is essential. And we dare not try to live without it.

But How?

“But how?” you ask. How do I squeeze in that “chapter a day to keep the devil away?” How do I get the clock to stand still so I can have a “Sweet Hour of Prayer?” Well, to be clear, neither of those quotes are exactly Scriptural. The truth is, the Bible never prescribes a set regime for believers. Unlike the religions of this world, there are no set times to pray, specific readings that must be completed in order to get a spiritual thumbs up from heaven.

There is simply Christ’s invitation to “abide,” to dwell with Him. We are called to speak to Him through prayer and listen to His voice through His Word the Bible. We are invited to commune with Him – offer up prayers of desperation and pleas as well as praise and thanksgivings. Bit by bit, whisper by whisper – in the quiet on the elevator, on the walk from the hospital room to our car, while we’re making our bed, as we drift to sleep. Crying out and drawing near, He tells us to pray. And He tells us to listen.

We are commanded to fill our minds with His Word – write out a verse and place it on the hospital room mirror. Listen to an audio version of the Bible as you drive. Read a psalm over your child. Fill the room you’re in with “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.” Let His voice surround You.

Recognizing Faith

In Mark 2:1-12, we are told of a man that was paralyzed. Desperate for healing, he recognized the only hope he had was Jesus. The story goes that the house where Jesus was teaching was filled with people. There was no possibility for the man being carried by his friends to get to Jesus through the door. Nothing daunted, the man’s four friends carried him to the roof, broke through the ceiling and dropped him through the hole so that he might reach the Great Healer. Recognizing the faith of these men, Jesus healed the paralytic.

There are moments in life where truly desperate times call for truly desperate measures. The man was barred from hope by the crowds, by the masses of people and the noise. But his response and the response of his friends was not to give up, to accept the barrier but to find a way to break through it. Hope lied with Jesus. While the door was the traditional path to Jesus, the door was not available. A new path had to be forged. A new method to reach the same aim. Hope always lies with Jesus.

Another Way

Like the paralytic, circumstances might be stacked against you. You may feel you are paralyzed by the weight of daily demands. There are crowds of doctors, nurses and therapists weaving in and out of your day. The door you formerly used to reach Jesus may be blocked. But hope lies with Jesus. It may take the help of friends. It may take a non-traditional route, but hope lies with Jesus. You must find a way. And there is always a way.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29