rocky start today. Besides messing with the taxes (lost the form and had to drive to the CPA’s office to pick up a copy), SU was in a really down mood.
I’ve often noticed that the people that give the most in society are the same as those that care the most. Now, that sounds obvious, but really they are two different things. SU is one of that that not only cares but has the ability to help those in crisis healthcare situations. And in our society, those people are in abundance and the crisis is growing daily. The burden that SU feels for those people can be crushing at times.
It’s hell to be poor, as the saying goes. Especially if you are sick and in need of health care. One of the infrequent members of my class fell this weekend and broke his leg at the ankle. We visited him in the hospital and knew that he didn’t have insurance or a strong financial situation. Of course, SU helped and had many things going at once to try to improve his care. Alas, even with her knowledge of the system, he was unable to get surgery scheduled and must wait, even though it is and will remain necessary.
Of all of the problems in our society today, health care is IMO the most critical that we address. Few people realize that a vast portion of the system is already socialized. The hybrid system yields good results for most of us but the working poor fall through the cracks. I don’t know what the solution is to that question but I do know that if we don’t address it sooner rather than later, our country will fall further into the abyss and our abstract arguments about liberals and conservatives will be meaningless.
What a tragedy today with the shootings at the college in Virginia. Why do young people feel such utter hopelessness? During class on Sunday, one of our members asked for prayer for her son’s friend’s family. She committed suicide – 13 years old. I just felt so overwhelmed at that, at the enormity of the burden that has been placed before the Church. But it is only the Church that can offer a ray of hope. We must do a better job of communicating that.
It is people like your wife that show the caring possibilities the Church has to offer. If the world could only see the love and giving nature of people like her and associate them with the Church as opposed to those on TV begging for money, the world would be flocking to Christ’s door to find out what makes the difference. I truly believe that those who care for others and feel pain at their misfortune are truly the closest to God’s heart. We become like those we choose to spend time with, and from your writings, it seems that your wife chooses to spend a good amount of time with God. Bless you and your family. Bless VT. May God be with all of us through our trials.
As I reflect back upon the different stages of my own life, I can see the truth and wisdom of that statement. The challenge for Christians is to present truth as simple as you did in that statement and to have it accepted for what it is. I think that we tend to obscure the truth with our glitzy, multimedia Sunday morning presentations while living no differently than the rest of the world the other 165 hours in the week.
And I do think that SU is one of those, along with you and many others, that offer rays of hope in this darkened world. Thank you for your kind words and many prayers.