At least a little time with Audrey

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 4, 2021             (today’s lectionary)

Independence Day in the USA

At least a little time with Audrey

Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy. As the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters, our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

Audrey, one of our best nurses, returned to Room 372 today, and back into our lives. But she was busy and mostly gone. Her aide Lyna told us two of her patients “crashed,” and Audrey accompanied them back to ICU, one at a time. I felt so sad for them. In the morning Audrey told us another patient expected to be discharged today, but there were problems and they couldn’t leave yet after all. Dashed expectations can be such killers.

A thorn in the flesh was given to me, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in your weakness.” Therefore in all my sufferings I am content, for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Margaret didn’t get her assisted shower (not that she cared), and timing was off on even the important stuff, except for lunch and dinner, which were perfect and arrived right on time. Our food “ambassador” is Julietta, and she has taken a special interest in Margaret’s well being. Over her mask her eyes radiate mercy and grace.  Margaret has a number of diet restrictions: no gluten, no sugar, no lectin, no peppers, no black pepper … but Julie has created breakfasts, lunches and dinners for Margaret within those restrictions that are very tasty. Lately they have even begun to include gluten-free gravy, white or dark.

Margaret said, “I’m not exercising enough to justify all this food.” Oh, well. She’s enjoying it more than she thought a week ago, when her mouth was sore and on fire, and more than two weeks ago, when she couldn’t eat after midnight, and three weeks ago, when no one had adopted her as their food friend, and four weeks ago, when she wondered if there really was a food service – when what she ordered was never what she received. Before every meal she opened the black warming cover on the plate with resigned curiosity rather than anticipation.

Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith.

All of that has changed. We brought her cinnamon and herbes de provence from home, along with our Nutri-Bullet. We make a smoothie every morning from the fruit she gets on her tray, along with some milk, protein powder, and ice. Pretty good stuff. Morning has become more filled with sunshine and daffodils in these last days.

Our TV broke today, and after Lyna (who is short) asked if I was a fall hazard, she let me stand on a sturdy chair and reboot everything twice until the channels we cared about returned. PBS Create is the best, with its how-to cook and how-to paint and even how-to fix up This Old House. But late at night Margaret turns off the how-to stuff and listens to President Biden’s news conference and lots more. She watches stories about chaos in Congress, infrastructure, fallen buildings, and gets a TV taste of all the news that’s fit to print.

This is new for her, and not likely to last. She cares far more about people and the Spirit of God than headlines. For now, though, she’s caught a little fire, and especially enjoys listening to stories of hope and friendship among strangers, which are available even if they’re few and far between.

A couple of days ago Margaret sent me a short text in the middle of the night. “It seems to me that in several small ways we have influenced the way they do things here, and are giving people permission to be just a little more creative.” God touches all of us through each other. We are both confident of this. That confidence is priceless, and allows us to say and do things that might otherwise feel like risks, that we might otherwise NOT do or say.

As the Lord spoke to me, the spirit entered into me and set me on my feet.

One of my favorite bloggers often writes about this confidence. She knows that without it, fear would often shut her door and shut her mouth; she would NOT speak into her family and neighbor’s lives to pass on the love she feels every day from God. “May you have courage and endurance to feed the light inside you,” she writes. “Be refreshed by Jesus and may His light feed your soul.”

(Ezekiel 2, Psalm 123, 2 Corinthians 12, Luke 4, Mark 6)

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