Perspective

It's been a week!
It's now Saturday evening and I'm enjoying a cigar, the fights are on, and I'm reflecting on the day. I thought I'd write some thoughts down for Sunday morning's post.

This afternoon (Saturday) I had just left the house to meet our daughter for a post-election celebratory drink. I was only about a mile from the house when my phone rang. It was the ER at the hospital where I am on call as chaplain this week. They told me they were moving a patient to the OB ward for post event observation after what they called fetal demise. She was 22 weeks pregnant and had just lost the baby. Although they hadn't requested a chaplain, the ER nurse called me.

I made the course correction and headed to the hospital. On the 30+ minute drive I was thinking about how small the world can seem at times. 
For the past several days, much of the world was watching as the results of our (the US) presidential election slowly came in. Here in the States, there were demonstrations, a fair amount of hand wringing, and much speculation on the future of the government's make up. We have been concerned with state elections, national elections, and international impact. This election had the greatest citizen participation with millions of more voters participating and having their voices heard at every level of government.

But in that moment, none of that mattered.

Nobody asked or cared if the young couple was Trump supporters, Biden supporters, or if they even voted. It didn't matter if they favored universal health care, were prolife or pro-choice, or what religion they practiced (if any). The medical staff at the hospital did what they were trained to do and then called me to come and minister to them in their very small world. 
On Saturday morning this young woman woke up expecting to be a mommy in a few months. By Saturday afternoon, that wasn't going to happen. That was their whole world.

Perspective.

There are millions of others that live in pretty small worlds. Around 600 people in Springfield MO are more concerned with finding a warm, safe place to sleep -- tonight. Many more than that don't know how they will feed their kids -- tonight. There are people in my community that are suffering physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Families are separated and dealing with pandemic issues -- on this very night. 
I'm not saying that we shouldn't be concerned with the big picture. But we also need to bring our focus in and look around us, at the people and the needs around us. We need to know that we can make a difference in their small world -- in our small world, and we can do it today.
You probably know somebody that could use a phone call. Call them.
You might know somebody that really needs a visit. Visit them.
Maybe you know somebody that needs a meal. Fix them a meal, buy them a gift card, or take them out if you can. 
Not sure who to help or how to help. Visit a thrift store or discount store and buy as many cheap warm coats as you can and donate them to a shelter. You can make a difference in your world. 

Without the labels -- red, blue, conservative, liberal, Christian, Muslim, atheist, etc. -- we are all just human beings trying to make it through the day. Why not help each other?
Life doesn't have to be a competition. It isn't that important that you finish the day with more stuff than me or somehow ahead of me or anyone else. We can finish together. 

My heart breaks for the young couple that I prayed with today. I know that their world is ugly today. I don't know that I was able to offer them any comfort because they were truly devastated when I saw them. You may feel like that, too. Do what you can. Keep things in perspective. Share some love. 

John