Friday, February 7, 2014

Heeding Hearing Learning

In my work as a Crisis Therapist dire situations are a part of my everyday world but I take it on the chin and then move on to the next case. As I am working on becoming a better me through weight loss and the Made to Crave Bible Study, my desire was for things to be different this time when I progressed through the study.  I want to be mindful of why I am eating and how God wants me to respond.  The following is the result of my work-a-day world intersecting with my Spiritual world.

Tonight I crave a splurge:
an eating binge.
I've consumed what I need, but I crave…more.
I crave.
It's cold outside. Frigid.
I have an hour to kill.
I crave.
Food calls to me with its siren song of promise, of comfort, of satisfaction.
I bought the "buy one get one free" croissants, but haven't indulged.
I need to be filled.
I crave.
So I drive through Starbucks,
but only leave with the 100 calorie drink instead of the salted caramel square.
(Can someone explain why the lo-cal drink costs twice as much as the aforementioned square?).
Then I hear God's voice inside of me..."sit with the pain".
Hearing is fine.
Heeding is hard.

But sit I do...
Here I sit. Sit. Sit.
Ahh...here it comes.
Sit with the suicide of a client.
Less than 24 hours out of the hospital and she's dead.
Her name scrawled carelessly on our "hot cases board".
In red no less,
Could it be more macabre?
And all the while she was already gone.
After 20 plus attempts I was dismissive of her:
Dismissive of her pain.
"Oh yeah, her again"!
There was nothing new to say in Rounds:
No fresh clinical insight or treatment regimen.
My prayer is that next time I'll be less dismissive and say,
"Hey now, remember Miss C." and do better.

I heard:
I need to be filled with compassion, not food.

I heeded:
When I sit with the pain
God sits with me.

I learned:
And on this other side there is
Peace.

3 comments:

  1. Wow. What a poignant post. I can't imagine the sorrow that you must be feeling over the loss of your client. And, through it all, sharing your story is an opportunity for others to learn and to find peace as well. Hearing. Heeding. Learning. What a simple equation but so helpful to remember in the process. Praying for you!

    Blessings
    Kristi Seat
    P31 OBS Ministry Team

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  2. Patrice, this is really wonderful & just what I needed to hear tonight. I have been struggling today with that crave to splurge. I think Mother Nature is messing with my hormones. I am so sorry you lost a client & what pain that must cause you. That would be tough. Praying for you sweet friend. Thank you so much for sharing. I didn't know you did the blog thing!

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  3. This is an awesome post. So sorry for your loss! Praying for you for peace. Thank you for sharing your heart.
    Lauren, P31 OBS blog hop team

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