A Time for Every Season - Pt 2

Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you. (Psalm 25:20-21 ESV).

Today we’ll look at the first “lesson” from my time in the hospital. Having come in to the hospital through the ER later to be transferred to a room, I was struck with the activity that surrounded me. I suppose a part of the seeming chaos was the need to do a lot of stuff in a short amount of time. I’m not really sure how many doctors, interns, nurses, or diagnosticians I saw. In fact, I’m not sure how many rooms, or areas I was taken to for testing. I do know that I got to know several “transport” technicians very well. I did enjoy the chats we had as they rolled my bed around from one place to another! Reflecting on that part of the experience, I remember thinking how easily it is to be numbed spiritually by the ceaseless barrage of sounds, noises, television, and chatter that surrounds you in the hospital. I was amazed at the ceaselessness of sound. Maybe it’s different for others. But for me, there was almost no let up. Not even in the middle of the night. In my case there was the monitoring of vital signs every two hours, the telemetry unit clicking and beeping, the phlebotomist coming for more blood samples every four hours, and countless other noises. I really just wanted some quiet. One of the tests was a nuclear stress test. I’ve had that particular test once before. It takes a while to complete while transferring from one stage to another. At one point I was in a very small holding area, you know the ones simply divided by curtains from others. Once they wheeled in the machine that would measure the response to the drugs they were to administer to get a look at my heart in various states of rhythm and accelerated pace, there were six people in the space. All were talking to one another or me, there were sounds emanating from the other “rooms,” people walking the hallway discussing everything from what needed to be done next with each station to the purchase of Girl Scout cookies! I wanted to just say, “Please, be quiet!” I know most of the noises were necessary. However, it made me long for quiet. After the test I realized it was not my ears that needed quiet, but my spirit. In the very moment when I needed to be still and know that God is God, my heart was off balance with distraction. This was a surprise to me. It took me off guard. I prayed my “list.” I worked at concentrating and turned my attention to our reading today to regain my spiritual stability. Like David, I simply prayed, “Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!” (v. 20). I hope you do not need to know this principle for any crisis, but should you find yourself in such a situation, God answers this prayer swiftly and powerfully!