Wednesday, December 12, 2007

New time to write

Working at the hospital has made for some great experiences. Every week I get to lead meditations in the psychiatric unit. 4 different meditations with 4 groups that each have a different psychological problems. The outpatient unit is quite independent but the ITU section is quite intense and extreme.

The one thing I love about working in the hospital is that patients there are willing to be cared for. I would rather lead a meditation in the psychiatric unit, or talk about suffering with a cancer patient, than discuss these issues in most churches. Why? Simply because these people know they are in need.

In the psych ward they know they have problems. In the rest of the hospital the patients obviously know they are in need...that's why they are in the hospital! And that is very refreshing because they are ripe for conversation and dialogue.

In the church, on a Sunday morning, in suburban Chicago, how many people there actually know they are in need? If you have a six figure salary, a cookie-cutter house, picture-perfect family, your basic physical needs met, than how do you come to the realization that you are in need?

A lot of people in the world, in the church, just don't know they are in need. The broken people in the hospital are so aware of their needs and so willing to receive care. That's why I like working at the hospital. There is a need. And it is great to get to do ministry where people know how much they are in the need of God.

More to come hopefully...

No comments: