Unaware
We spent much of the weekend playing phone tag with two of our dear friends, Matt and Sara. Sara (at last) delivered a healthy baby boy on Friday, and we were able to visit them twice during their hospital stay.
You can learn a lot about people and society in general just by observing them. People-watching has always been a favorite pastime of mine. I would like to submit, too, that the most fascinating people to be watched can be found in one of three places: the airport, the mall, and the hospital.
I am one who likes to make up stories about people who I don't even know....where they're from, why they're here....where they're going....what kind of pain must be plaguing them (drama, I know).
One thing I do know is that, in hospitals, the staff is fun to observe. The particular hospital where we were deals with nothing but women and children. The floor we were on, of course, dealt exclusively with labor and delivery. The woman at the front desk looked placid and calm, her demeanor flat. I barely got a slight smile out of her. Most of the nurses looked like zombies, expressionless and busy. If all I had to go on was what they manifested on the outside, I would have to guess that their job was commonplace to them, as well as....well, just a job.
I marveled at the miracles which took place within those walls. Women on one side of the hallway were dealing with pain, bittersweet due to the fact that they so fervently wanted to meet their babies for the very first time. Women on the other side were awash with the sweet emotions of new motherhood, beautifully aware of the new life in their cradled arms.
I was wide-eyed and in awe. My heart raced a little faster, my endorphins kicked in. This was the place where new life began. This was where God ushered these little ones into the arms of their parents. This was a place of true miracles.
At the same time, I realized that sadness also resonated within those walls. I could hardly bear to think about it, but I knew that some women didn't want the babies who were born to them. Some babies entered the world sick and too tiny to breathe on their own. Some loved ones weren't able to be there to witness the births. I had to be aware of both sides of the circumstances in order to fully comprehend the magnitude of such a place.
I began to think about it like this, too. Don't we often go through our lives like those hospital staff that I saw? Don't we "click off" just so we can make it through another day? Don't we wish away our "shift," watching the clock and biding our time? Don't we have more frowns than smiles sometimes, exhibiting that the life and blessings we've been given aren't as precious to us as they should be?
Oh, God, I pray that you would keep me far away from complacency. Let me never forget that there are always Your miracles around me. Just the simple fact that I am alive is worth singing about. The nature you surround us with outdoors is a miracle in and of itself. Your power is exhibited everywhere...please help Your love and peace to be exhibited in my life.
You can learn a lot about people and society in general just by observing them. People-watching has always been a favorite pastime of mine. I would like to submit, too, that the most fascinating people to be watched can be found in one of three places: the airport, the mall, and the hospital.
I am one who likes to make up stories about people who I don't even know....where they're from, why they're here....where they're going....what kind of pain must be plaguing them (drama, I know).
One thing I do know is that, in hospitals, the staff is fun to observe. The particular hospital where we were deals with nothing but women and children. The floor we were on, of course, dealt exclusively with labor and delivery. The woman at the front desk looked placid and calm, her demeanor flat. I barely got a slight smile out of her. Most of the nurses looked like zombies, expressionless and busy. If all I had to go on was what they manifested on the outside, I would have to guess that their job was commonplace to them, as well as....well, just a job.
I marveled at the miracles which took place within those walls. Women on one side of the hallway were dealing with pain, bittersweet due to the fact that they so fervently wanted to meet their babies for the very first time. Women on the other side were awash with the sweet emotions of new motherhood, beautifully aware of the new life in their cradled arms.
I was wide-eyed and in awe. My heart raced a little faster, my endorphins kicked in. This was the place where new life began. This was where God ushered these little ones into the arms of their parents. This was a place of true miracles.
At the same time, I realized that sadness also resonated within those walls. I could hardly bear to think about it, but I knew that some women didn't want the babies who were born to them. Some babies entered the world sick and too tiny to breathe on their own. Some loved ones weren't able to be there to witness the births. I had to be aware of both sides of the circumstances in order to fully comprehend the magnitude of such a place.
I began to think about it like this, too. Don't we often go through our lives like those hospital staff that I saw? Don't we "click off" just so we can make it through another day? Don't we wish away our "shift," watching the clock and biding our time? Don't we have more frowns than smiles sometimes, exhibiting that the life and blessings we've been given aren't as precious to us as they should be?
Oh, God, I pray that you would keep me far away from complacency. Let me never forget that there are always Your miracles around me. Just the simple fact that I am alive is worth singing about. The nature you surround us with outdoors is a miracle in and of itself. Your power is exhibited everywhere...please help Your love and peace to be exhibited in my life.
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