This week I did a pastoral visit with a lady. I sat and had a cup of tea and a fresh cheese biscuit she had made. Her mom had joined us for the chat. The daughter is currently living with cancer and in her final week of chemo before they move on to the next step. Her mom has lived with three bouts of cancer. The daughter has been working through all kinds of feelings and emotions and the reconnection with church through my visit I hope would help. I let them set the pace of the talk, trying to listen and be present. One of their cats sat on my lap loving the attention purring very happily. I always feel so inadequate when I do pastoral visits. I am not a therapist, nor a psychologist, nor a specialist…but I reminded myself I am not supposed to be that nor am I expected to be that. I wondered as I left if I had been any help whatsoever. I told the daughter that anytime she wanted to talk I was available.
I was reminded of the photo above of the recent ice storm we had in the Toronto area which was devastating. Our property on Shiloh Rd had very little damage but the majestic birch trees were bent to the ground with the weight of the ice. Even parts of the branches were buried in the snow and ice. Little by little the sun regained its warmth and helped to melt the ice and the snow and as I walked over to the trees, I gently pulled the tips of the branches out of the ground and let them rise gently back up into place.
It reminds me that people can be weighed down by their life story…and all it takes is for someone to radiate warmth and care and help them to straighten back up after feeling almost down to the ground. I hope I did that this week…I hope I gently lifted both her and her mom from the weight of their stories in some small way with gentle love radiating the love of the son of God who unbent the woman with the crooked back.
And so as we greet the evening my prayer for this day becomes this…
O Holy One,
There are so many people who are bent by life’s events.
Help me to radiate your love and the love of your son in those moments.
And may I be gentle as I listen to them. Amen!
