“You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance.” Ps. 68:9
The Dead Sea isn’t actually dead. Some things live in it, just not many things. The extremely high salt content of its waters will not support many forms of life, with the exception of some bacteria and fungi. The primary reason for this high salinity is that the Dead Sea has no outlet. Water from the Jordan River and a few other streams flow in. Nothing flows out. Ministers, myself included, have sometimes used this fact to underscore the importance of serving others. As we receive, we should also give in order to avoid the spiritual equivalent of becoming a Dead Sea ourselves.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the deadness that follows giving and giving without receiving any refreshing inflow. In either case, the outcome is the same; the absence of the ability to support life.
This has been an incredibly busy week at our hospital. The volume of patients that have come through our doors and the acute nature of many of their health problems have challenged and stretched our Care Givers. Yesterday, one family member of one such patient noted with no small amazement how their nurse was crying with them as they wept over their loved one’s waning moments of life. She was not unique. That caring spirit pervades every department of our hospital. I am so grateful to work with so many caring hearts who make the choice not only to be excellent at their task, but to be exceptionally caring too.
To continue in this ability to be touched by the pain of others, to be able to connect emotionally and spiritually, caregivers must also care for themselves. Taking the time to exercise, relax, do something fun, and feed your spirit keeps the inflow coming so that your outflow does not result in emotional and spiritual exhaustion. Around here we don’t have “Dead Seas.” Let’s care for ourselves, and each other, so that we don’t have any dry lakes either.
Blessings to you all,
No comments:
Post a Comment