Sometimes my heart just breaks

[Blueridge Believer]

My heart breaks sometimes. Had a guy come in my shop today, 36 yrs. old. He's had his voice box taken out because of cancer and now his wife,33, has cancer of the uterous. He's hard up for cash I can tell, although he didn't say it. Brought his car by to get me to do a program on a theft deterrent module that he put in it. It wouldn't take the program. Defective part. I wanted to sit down and cry for the guy. Wanted so badly to talk about Christ to him but couldn't because I'm on the job.
Sometimes my heart just breaks.

 

[MrMerlin777]

I feel for you brother. Sometimes out here at the clinic where I work it can be most heartbreaking at times. Sick people often have hurting hearts as well.

 

[Puritan Sailor]

Try working in an ER for the last 6 years....

 

[Semper Fidelis]

...or working in a Area of Operations that includes some of the poorest people on the planet.

I was sitting in a brief today that was talking about a recent Operation Goodwill. It was a finger in the dike in a portion of the Phillipines but something just hit me hard and reminded me of how blessed and rich Americans are. It actually also made me think how thankless to God some are about how he as blessed us with modern medicine.

Our unit had sent out some medical people to provide education, sanitation, healthcare, and to rebuild some schools devastated by a typhoon. I had heard all the stories before about their poor sanitation and, sad to say, I've become accustomed to such stories.

But something hit me today and I almost wanted to cry in the middle of a meeting. For the first time they had brought a Physical Therapist out and the LtCol giving the after action described the unexpected benefits.

You see, like us, they have kids that are born with birth defects like cerebral palsy but, unlike us, these poor people have no early intervention for such things and, culturally, many of these people are shunned and never develop.

It made me think of my daughter Anna and the early intervention she received and I thought of all the poor people around the world that never even approached that luxury. I was ashamed that I take such things for granted and I felt such sorrow for all the human misery in the world.

Maybe it was a drop in the bucket but there are a few hundred families that will have some knowledge about physical therapy and give some young kids a chance they never had before.

 

[turmeric]

Joni Earekson Tada has a ministry called Wheels for the World where they give used, re-fitted wheelchairs to people in the Third World. To think that a person who has been crawling on the ground to get anywhere for years, suddenly can sit up and go somewhere...

 

[Puddleglum]

. . . or try working in the county hospital (where we get everybody that nobody wants, after they're sick enough to get admitted through the ED).

 

[BJClark]

trevorjohnson;

My heart just broke. How do I explain this sort of thing to Noah and how does one live like this every day, begging in the smog and noise of downtown Jakarta?

They do it because they have the desire to survive.

What does the Bible say about it?

Jesus set the precedent on how to answer that question when asked about
(I believe it was the blind man). They were in essence asking the same thing..
Why are people born this way? Was it sin? If it was sin whose sin this mans or his parents? And Christ answered to the effect it was niether, but for the Glory of God.

And it certainly leads one to believe those verses could be used to witness to those who have these afflictions and to the their family.

Rich, looking at your own daughter, and the medical exams and such, have you not leaned on God even more?

I don't work in the medical field, but I can certainly sympathize with those of you who do. When my husband had an emergency apendectomy a few months ago, the doctor came out afterwards to let me know how things went, and wasn't sure what to say--I thanked her, and shared how I had spent my time reading my bible and praying for them and that Christ would guide their hands. A look of relief came over her and she was like "thank you, because of my job I am not supposed to open that door unless the family or patient says something first." And we sat there for the next fifteen to twenty minutes talking and sharing our faith.

The verses that kept coming to mind as we talked were about not being afraid of what man can do to you, and about denying Christ before men.

When we look at submission to God vs man, we are to submit to God first when mans laws and rules go against what God's word says. If we can work within the guidelines great, but when we can't we must submit to God, even if it means we lose our job or get reprimanded for doing so.

So even for her being in uniform, and the rules are that while in Uniform
and/or on the job, she can not share her faith, so what was she going to do go take off her uniform or sign off the clock so that she could share her faith with someone who is hurting? By No means, In such a case she steps out in faith and submits to God, not the fear of losing her job or being reprimanded for sharing her faith. It just happened she was new to the area and looking for a church home, so I extended an invitation for her her to visit our church.

Blueridge reformer, why couldn't you share Christ with him? Were you living in fear of losing your job if you did? Was there another option like could you have asked to meet him later and offer to buy he and his wife lunch or dinner and shared Christ outside the work enviroment? Do you have his address? Could you send him money to help with that expense annonymously? Or even go to your church and see if they could assist? Or give him the number to your church where he could go to them himself and seek assistance (if they have such a ministry at your church)?

Why do so many of us live in fear of losing a job if we share Christ? Where is our faith that God WILL provide even if we do?

 

[Blueridge Believer]

We should thank God that we have compassion for those who struggle and are in need. I was a chaplain as well for a prison system in past years as well as preached at and volunteered for the city rescue mission on Sunday nights in the past. Saw and heard a lot of sad stories there through the years.
My biggest regret though brethren has been my half hearted service.
There was just something about that poor ol' boy yesterday though that really got to me.

 

[Blueridge Believer]

trevorjohnson;




They do it because they have the desire to survive.

What does the Bible say about it?

Jesus set the precedent on how to answer that question when asked about
(I believe it was the blind man). They were in essence asking the same thing..
Why are people born this way? Was it sin? If it was sin whose sin this mans or his parents? And Christ answered to the effect it was niether, but for the Glory of God.

And it certainly leads one to believe those verses could be used to witness to those who have these afflictions and to the their family.

Rich, looking at your own daughter, and the medical exams and such, have you not leaned on God even more?

I don't work in the medical field, but I can certainly sympathize with those of you who do. When my husband had an emergency apendectomy a few months ago, the doctor came out afterwards to let me know how things went, and wasn't sure what to say--I thanked her, and shared how I had spent my time reading my bible and praying for them and that Christ would guide their hands. A look of relief came over her and she was like "thank you, because of my job I am not supposed to open that door unless the family or patient says something first." And we sat there for the next fifteen to twenty minutes talking and sharing our faith.

The verses that kept coming to mind as we talked were about not being afraid of what man can do to you, and about denying Christ before men.

When we look at submission to God vs man, we are to submit to God first when mans laws and rules go against what God's word says. If we can work within the guidelines great, but when we can't we must submit to God, even if it means we lose our job or get reprimanded for doing so.

So even for her being in uniform, and the rules are that while in Uniform
and/or on the job, she can not share her faith, so what was she going to do go take off her uniform or sign off the clock so that she could share her faith with someone who is hurting? By No means, In such a case she steps out in faith and submits to God, not the fear of losing her job or being reprimanded for sharing her faith. It just happened she was new to the area and looking for a church home, so I extended an invitation for her her to visit our church.

Blueridge reformer, why couldn't you share Christ with him? Were you living in fear of losing your job if you did? Was there another option like could you have asked to meet him later and offer to buy he and his wife lunch or dinner and shared Christ outside the work enviroment? Do you have his address? Could you send him money to help with that expense annonymously? Or even go to your church and see if they could assist? Or give him the number to your church where he could go to them himself and seek assistance (if they have such a ministry at your church)?

Why do so many of us live in fear of losing a job if we share Christ? Where is our faith that God WILL provide even if we do?

No, its not a matter of being afraid to lose my job. It's about doing the job my employer has hired me to do. He did not hire me to preach the gospel on his time. I do have his address and am at this moment pondering and praying about what I might be able to do to assist this man.
I do take whatever opportunity I can to witness for Christ on the job but I must be careful. If I cause my employer to lose a customer because of a religious disagreement with someone I'm talking to about the gospel then I've sinned against him.

 

[Gregg]

No, its not a matter of being afraid to lose my job. It's about doing the job my employer has hired me to do. He did not hire me to preach the gospel on his time.