Keeping Me On My Toes

...For God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things that are strong....
I Corinthians 1:27

This past Saturday was the day before Easter.  My husband was on Worship Team for the Saturday evening service, and it was not a terribly convenient time for a trip south of Tacoma.  But on Saturday nights I go and sit with Pastor Brown (see previous posts) during his dialysis treatment.  I got ready to go, and as I was walking out the door, I felt prompted to take him communion.

That's silly,  I said to myself. He'll be going to church tomorrow.  But I couldn't argue my way out of it, so I went back for the Communion cups. We had just done communion at the Community Care Center (CCC) and so I had a few hermetically sealed communion cups left. I tossed a couple in my basket and off I went.

Pastor Brown hasn't been to church in a year or so.  First he had some health problems and couldn't get his shoes on.  Then, once that cleared up, he was waiting for his dentures to arrive (which took about 15 months).  But now he has both shoes and teeth, and he'd said he was ready to go to church on Easter.  I expected him to be excited and smiling, but he wasn't.  He looked up at me from under his blanket, greeted me morosely, and made some halfhearted small talk.

I asked him what was wrong, and he said nothing, but I persisted and finally he gave in.
"I ain't goin' to no church tomorrow," he told me with a lugubrious sigh.
"What?  Why not?  You have your teeth...and you got your shoes on...."
"Yeah, but...." his lips worked and he swallowed a couple times.  "This week I fell down and broke my collarbone.  It hurts to sit up in my chair for very long.  So I can't go."
I commiserated with him for a while, but he fell silent, staring out at the rain.
"Pastor Brown, before I left tonight, I thought God was telling me to bring you communion.  So I brought it with me.  Would you like to take communion together, to celebrate Easter?"

His eyes flickered up and he admitted, "Yes, I surely would. I can't tell you when was the last time I took communion. Give me a minute to get ready."

So I went to the nurses to check and see whether it was OK to give him communion, and they were completely intrigued and asked me all kinds of questions about it.

When he was prepared, I opened up my/his Bible and read several verses, ending with I Corinthians 11:23-26.  At the appropriate places, I said, "This is His body, broken for you, Nathaniel," and handed him the wafer. And "This is his blood, spilt for you, Nathaniel," and gave him the cup.

And all the nurses watched "unobtrusively" from across the aisle.

When he was finished with the cup, we prayed for quite some time, and his prayers got stronger and more cheerful, until he ended, in his usual fashion, "Amen and Amen...In Jesus' name: thank the Lord."

Afterward, there were tears in his eyes as he said, "Thank you so much for doing that with me.  You have no idea how much I've needed that refreshment. "
And behind him, the head nurse shook her head and said, just a little too loudly, "First time I ever seen that - communion at a kidney center."
And Pastor Brown glared at her  "For as often as we eat of this bread and drink of this cup, we proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.  Anyplace and anytime. And that's a fact."
I guess he told her.
There's always something new to keep me on my toes.  I didn't know that Pastor Brown would be unable to go to church on Easter, but God knew, and He hadn't forgotten him. 
"I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Matthew 28:20
Amen and Amen. In Jesus' name: Thank the Lord.

Magnify the Lord

Right now, at this moment, two million US adults are living in nursing homes. Another 900,000 reside in smaller adult care homes, and untold thousands live in Assisted Living communities or are being cared for by family. And they’re just the tip of the iceberg.  Every day, another 10,000 people in the US turn 65.

The numbers are impressive, but when you try to calculate the cost of long-term care for all those folks, it becomes staggering. The US Government spends over 75 billion dollars a year on long term health care; paying for almost 60% of all expenses. Data shows that health care costs are generally higher at the end of life; a disproportionately large percentage of all Medicare expenditures are incurred during the year prior to death.

As the world seeks cost effective alternatives to reduce end-of-life care expenses, the church must realize that euthanasia is on their list. And yet, more than 90% of US churches have no recognized (budgeted) outreach ministry to residents of nursing homes and long-term-care facilities.

But Christ’s Church Cares!

Our C.A.R.E. Ministry has received funding from the elders as a recognized ministry of the church, providing Christ-centered, Scripture-based worship services and weekly Bible Studies, as well as one-on-one visits.

It’s easy to see the necessity of the corporate gatherings to residents who may have attended church weekly throughout their lives. But why are the one-on-one visits so vitally important?

Although we tend to see a large number of long-term residents in our services, the stunning fact is that, of those two million people living in a nursing home, two-thirds will die this year.

And of the ones who are left,

33% are suffering from some form of depression.

This is not hard to understand. Residents are fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, businessmen, teachers, realtors, pastors. People who once ran families, businesses, churches, and military units. They’ve lost health, mobility, and independence, and must rely on staff to meet their most basic needs. But even more than that, they feel they’ve been abandoned.

80% have fewer than one visitor per week

35% will not see a loved one after their second week.

When your family and friends and everyone you’ve loved and served all your life fades away, it is very easy to conclude that God has abandoned you as well.

Do you see how important this ministry is? 

Can you imagine what a powerful encouragement it is that someone knows their name? That someone touches them when it’s not their job to do it? This is the power of the one-on-one visits, that say “I came to see you because you’re important to God, and important to me!”

Psalm 34 says “Magnify the Lord with me.”  Magnifying something makes it easier to see; that is what we do with every smile, every touch, every word of Scripture. We make God easier for them to see.  Because we, who are strangers, love them, suddenly it’s not so hard to believe that God might still love them too. So come, and “Magnify the Lord with me!”

From the Heart(s)

Remember back in February when I made all those Valentines?  There's a post about it back in the history if you want to see a picture...
I have a follow-up report on some amazing results from that little craft project to share with you tonight.

Of the 45 valentines that went to residents that weekend, 20 were for people who are not regular attenders at our services; some even whose religious preference is not 'Christian.'  I took extra care with those, to use Scriptures that could not be considered proselytizing.  One of these went to Annie, a lady I visit with in the dementia unit every week just because I enjoy her immensely.  She has quite the vocabulary of swear words and is generally suspicious of religious persons, but she and I share a love of animals and plants and raising boys and we've slowly built a friendship.

Last week, she greeted me enthusiastically with "Hello there!  I've been thinking about you a lot this week, you being my chaplain and all."

Annie all of the sudden wanted to talk about God, and about an alarming incident she'd experienced, and we talked for more than an hour. This week she reported praying and telling God all about her issues.  When they brought her dinner in, they kicked me out (she'd rather talk than eat) but she followed me to the door and said, sadly, "Don't you think we could have a little prayer before you go? I'd like to."  This was new.  I took her hand, and we had a sweet time of prayer while her dinner reposed, uneaten, on her tray.

 

Do you know what made the difference?

 

Her Valentine.  I gave Annie Proverbs 17:17, just to be safe.  But after her enthusiastic greeting last week she said, "I've looked at that paper you left me with the verse a whole bunch of times. And I started thinking 'Boy I hope the chaplain comes by because I'm thinking the Gospel would do me a pile of good right now.'"

 

And that opened up the floodgates.  Until that time I'd only been hinting at Spiritual things with Annie.  I knew if I came across as pushy that she'd slam the door and, as she is deteriorating, it might never open again.  But I have probably been more reticent than I needed to be - I always am.  But God had mercy on me and this time Annie took the lead and came right out and asked ME for the gospel and prayer. 

 

After she told me that I realized that as I walk the halls and visit around, I've been seeing those Valentines everywhere.  Stuck on cork boards and taped on walls and magneted to fridge doors.  Mr. Lewis went along his hallway, stole half a dozen from his less cognizant neighbors and stuck them to his bathroom mirror with shaving cream, as a sort of wallpaper decoration.  

 

I have a confession to make: I almost didn't do them this year. I'm busier now than I was last year, and it seemed kind of a silly way to use my time.  Plus, I wasn't exactly sure how it went over last year.  But I didn't feel easy in my mind about not doing it, so I ended up carrying on, and boy am I glad! I won't think twice about it next year. You just never know.

 

Jehovah Jireh....

I don't worry about ministry provisions too much.  It's not just the big things like Adopt-a-Resident and Frank's gift, but a thousand little examples of how He provides for His people.

On Tuesday I gave a little speech to the Ladies' Bible Study at church, and told them that I need help writing cards.  We send Birthday cards to all our regular attenders on their birthdays, plus valentines, Easter cards, Christmas cards...etc.  I have a very small budget for cards, and some come in by donations, but with February's 12 cards going out, plus Valentines, I was scraping the bottom of the barrel. 

Two ladies signed up to help write cards, which is an enormously helpful blessing.  Now I could concentrate on where to get nice cards for not much money.

Then at the Wednesday Bible Study, one of the Activities Ladies pulled me aside and said, "I went with the outing to Walmart yesterday, and found out that Bess doesn't have a coat!"  (You met Bess and her Walker Thing in the last post).  She went on, "All she has is this thin knit sweater.  Do you think there's something you can do about that?"

I said "Sure!" (my standard answer).  On the way home, I prayed and then began to plan.  I had to get my son some sneakers from Value Village, so I'd look for a nice coat for Bess too. I wasn't counting on spending that money, but maybe God would send some extra.

That night I went to pick my kids up at church, and our AWANA Commander saw me and said, "Oh!  I'm so glad I caught you!  I have some things for you.  Remember that lady we sponsored for Adopt-a-Resident who liked angels?  Here's a blanket someone donated with an angel on it.  Oh, and here are some more cards I got -some birthday cards and some Easter and some other things.  And..." she paused and looked hesitantly at me. "I don't suppose you could use a coat, could you?  It's nice and warm and tan, about my size. I got it, but I just didn't like the color."

So there. All the needs were taken care of in one stop - and I didn't have to spend any money.  He is Jehovah Jireh  - The Lord our Provider.

A Smile a Day...

Nathan Hansen, a friend, former student, and all-around bodacious fellow, posted the following on his Facebook page:

"[Have you ever gotten a genuine smile from somebody? Not just that 'look at me, I'm smiling' smile that everyone in the Northwest can plaster on their face at will, but an actual, raw smile - one with heart and energy behind it. I got one from an Asian guy at the library today. He was coming in on crutches, so I held the door for him. He gave me this big, stupid grin like he was just over the moon that somebody gave a rip about him. If I can make one person smile like that, once a day, until I die, mine will be a life well-spent.]"

Do you share Nathan's sentiment?  Does it seem impossible?  Let me assure you: it's not.  If you'd like to make this kind of difference in the life of someone who is struggling with loneliness, disconnectedness, and loss, consider becoming a nursing home chaplain.  Once you are known, the smiles - and also the genuine tears, which are sometimes just as good - pour forth every day.  Many times a day, even. Every time.  I'm not kidding.

Just today, when the kids and I went to visit Josef, their favorite resident, we found him in the dining room sulking.  He prefers to stay in his room but this time a saucy aide made him come out.  My littlest boy told him it had just been his birthday, and showed off his presents.  Meanwhile, my almost-13-year-old was standing behind me, measuring my height against his and finding out with enormous glee that he has passed me up. Josef thought that was the funniest thing, and he laughed aloud.

From there, I went to the room of a resident who is a pastor. He had failed to show up for Bible Study, so I went to see whether he was OK. He confessed to struggling with depression and I shared that when I was in his shoes, there was a particular Scripture that made a difference.  Standing right there in his room, I laid a hand on his shoulder as we opened the word together and had a dramatic reading of Isaiah 45:2-3.  There were the tears and the smile all at once, and he committed to praying and asking God to show him the treasures in his darkness.

And on the way out of his room, I ran into Bess, who grinned a huge, toothless grin at me and said, in her slow Kentucky Drawl, "Oh there she is! My friend who got me my Thing for my walker! I got me some tissues in there an' my glasses an' a extra couple packets of sugar an' creamer!"  (She received one of the walker caddies from Frank's donation. She calls it her "Thing" (obviously with a capital letter) and every time I visit she eagerly tells me what she's carrying in it today).

See what I mean? There were three instances of the Nathan Hansen Principle in 20 minutes, and that's not in any way unusual.  And when Abbie caught me on the way out and said, "Did you hear me ask for prayer for you in the Bible Study?  You do so much for so many people I wanted to make sure you got prayed for!" the genuine, heartfelt smile was mine.

The difference is real. Sometimes it's just for a day; sometimes for eternity.  And the beauty of it is, it can happen for anyone. If you feel God tugging at your heart, consider becoming a chaplain.   The need is great. Pray about it.  And if the Lord leads, let me know.  I'd love to help you spread some smiles around.

You Need to Get a New Bible, Chaplain!

It is Saturday, and I am once again looking forward to an evening with Pastor Brown at the dialysis center.  And I know just what he's going to ask me. After I gown up, fetch myself a stool, and hear all his updates (we missed last week because of the snow), he will turn to me expectantly and say "What've you been doing with my Bible this week?"

After I found him last Easter (if you don't know what I'm talking about, read the post called "Finding Nathaniel" from earlier this year), he told me how he'd come to disappear so thoroughly from the Community Care Center (CCC).  His granddaughter had taken the home health care aide certification class, and when she had passed the state test his daughter had brought him home to live with her.  His biggest worry when he lived at the CCC was that someone had sold a Bible that he thought a great deal about; he asked me repeatedly to pray that it hadn't been lost or sold.

One week, he was smiling when I came in and he said, "I knew you'd be here today. Get me that bag on my chair."
I brought him the plastic grocery sack hanging from the back of his wheelchair and he said, "Look in there."

Inside was a very battered Bible. The cover was nearly off, pages in the back were dropping out, and it had obviously been stuck together with plain present-wrapping tape a number of times.  As I held it he looked on with great eagerness.  "Read the inscription!" he commanded and I very gingerly opened the back cover.  Here is what was written inside, in faded sepia ink:

"Property of Nathaniel Brown (Military number,  Army division). Given him this Mother's day, May 13 1951, Kubayashi, Okinawa, by Chaplain Kraswell."  And there were two Scriptures afterward.

"Wow!" I said. "You were a youngster then, weren't you?"
"I surely was. That was when I was a green private in the Korean war.  I'd been wounded, you know, but not bad enough to get sent home; only bad enough to hurt and keep me from having any fun at all. So I called the chaplain over and I said 'I'm prayin', Chaplain. How come my prayers ain't bein' answered?' An he look me in the eye an' he said, 'You pray, son, but you don't believe. Tell you what you need to do...you need to take this here book, and read it, and learn Who you prayin' to, and then you pray, believin'."  
And then Chaplain Kraswell inscribed the Bible to him, handed it to him, and went about his business.  

The young Private Nathaniel Brown read that Bible, off and on, for many years; through the Korean War, and on into his posting in Germany, where it was finally lost when he left it behind. 25 years later, Staff Sergeant Nathaniel Brown finally prayed, believing, and came face to face with the Lord of Glory.  And then his old Bible from Chaplain Kraswell took on new meaning to him, and he went searching for it.  He started at Fort Lewis here in WA, and they sent him to three other bases, finally ending up at Fort Benning, where he was deployed from during his very first tour of duty.  There they promised to see what they could do and hung up the phone, and he thought it was over. 

His eyes lit up as he told me, "An' then, three months later, a package come to my door, and there it was!  They found it some way and sent it on back to me!"

I was completely awestruck to be holding such a miraculously-restored Bible, and I flipped through it carefully and then returned it to the sack. He told me about reading from that Bible in Germany and preaching from it in the US a half-century later, and how he carried it with him all the time until he came to the nursing home.

That evening I told my family about it, and by next Saturday I had some questions ready for him.  But as soon as I began asking him, he said, "Well, why don't you pull it out and see for yourself."
And so I did, and then he said, "Look back there at that inscription again," so I obediently opened the back cover. But this time, next to the sepia ink was something new, lettered carefully in black ink. It said,

Presented to Chaplain Debbe Carson, June 1, 2013, by Elder Nathaniel Brown.  Pray Believing.

"This is for you," he said. "I want you to have it...for your work."
He was as thrilled to give it to me as I was to have it, but it was -and is- in a fragile condition. My mother made a quilted cover for it and I carry it with me everywhere, using it in the nursing home, at church, and at co-op.  But the cover has now come completely apart, and whenever I take it out pages drift to the floor like leaves in the Fall.  Each time, someone looks at me, astonished, and says, "You need to get a new Bible, Chaplain."  And every week I tell them no, I don't; because I know that when I show up at the dialysis center on Saturday, Pastor Brown's going to ask me what I and his Bible have been doing that week, and I must unfailingly report.
  
So from time to time, I'll post updates on what I have been doing with Pastor Brown's Bible, so you can share in the adventure.

With All Your Heart - A Valentine's Reflection

Valentine's day is one of those holidays. It's supposed to be a happy day when we celebrate love, but what the media and the greeting card companies promote has little to do with love.  As a result, many people end up feeling empty and lonely on "love day," because in the final analysis, what the modern celebration of Valentine's Day does is polarize the world into the 'haves' and the 'have nots.'

Do you remember making a shoe-box valentine mailbox for school, and carefully crafting and filling out cards for your classmates?  Perhaps you were the one whose box was full to overflowing at the end of the party, or maybe you were the one looking on after receiving a few obviously obligatory cards with a name scrawled at the bottom.

It is the same way in the nursing home - at the other end of life. The residents with families and attentive friends get cards, flowers, balloons, candy, or even that most coveted of surprises - a visit.  And the others...well, they watch.  Sometimes community groups will drop off a box of generic valentines for the Activities Department to pass out, possibly with packets of conversation hearts, and the organization's name at the bottom. From your friends at the Library Council.  That sort of thing. This is not a bad idea, certainly, and more organizations should consider doing that.  But still, to our precious brothers and sisters in the nursing homes, receiving Valentines that talk about love, with a stranger's name at the bottom, can just reinforce the idea that their own no longer care about them.  

Definitely, the residents enjoy getting cards and notes from people they know; people who demonstrably care about them.  Cards from their visitors and the chaplain are always appreciated.

When I took over leadership of the CARE Ministry, I made a commitment that all the residents who regularly attend our services, plus some others that I visit with myself, would receive special valentines. But have you SEEN the Valentine's cards in the stores?  Yikes.  What sort of cards should I send, then? I decided to take a lesson from those early elementary school Valentines parties and make some of my own.  Here is a photo of the process:

As you can see, they're very simple.  A $6.99 box of 100 flat note cards and a bottle of glue were the only materials.  But instead of the usual "Be Mine" sentiments, each card has a Scripture that talks about love or the heart, to give God's perspective on love.  Some of the Scriptures included:

• For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son (John 3:16)
• Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and Strength (Deuteronomy 6:5)
• You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. (Joshua 23:14)
• My Heart rejoices in the Lord (1 Samuel 2:1)
• My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart (Psalm 7:10)
• But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation (Psalm 13:5)
• A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17)
• Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5)
• A cheerful heart is good medicine (Proverbs 17:22)

And a particularly appropriate one for the pastor-resident who prays for me and encourages me each week: 

• Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.  (Philemon 1:7)

Last year 17 of these valentines were distributed as a sort of a trial run, and they were enjoyed for a very long time. Some are still hanging in the rooms; some have been pressed into service as Bible bookmarks; a couple have gone home with families of deceased residents.  This year I was blessed to hand off almost 40 of them to Activities, to be distributed on Valentine's Day, each one with a Scripture chosen for the recipient personally, and a warm message on the back. 

It's a small gesture. But that's the great beauty of this ministry; small gestures can make all the difference. Because when the residents see that someone who is not even a relative shows an interest in them; cares about them; loves them; suddenly it becomes easier for them to believe that God could love them as well. 
And after all, our goal is that they be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ.