Some thoughts

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am currently doing my psych rotation for nursing school (as an aside, I will mention that we got out early yesterday and I am under the distinct impression that getting out early is something that occurs on a regular basis!). I was doing a lot of reading about therapeutic communication last night, and then I read my Bible for a few minutes before bed. I tend to not just open it and read; I'm usually studying a book of the Bible, a theme, or reviewing a favorite Bible story to tell my kids (some of the Old Testament ones are obscure and I'm a bit fuzzy on the details!) Anyway, last night I just let my Bible fall open, and it fell open to the book of Job. For those of you who don't know, Job was a man who loved the Lord dearly and followed Him closely. Satan told God that Job was only obedient because his life was good, and God told Satan he could do anything he wanted to Job (but he couldn't touch Job). Job lost his children, his livestock, his very livelihood, yet he never cursed the Lord. Job didn't know about the "conversation" between the Lord and Satan, nor did his friends. His friends all assumed he had done something really, terribly wrong. They sat by him for awhile as Job grieved, and then they started offering "advice." As I was reading some of this discourse, I realized that what Job needed was someone to just be near him, offer support and encouragement, but to be silent.

And that got me to thinking about this psych rotation. I need to really use silence when I listen to other people talk about their struggles. Sometimes the best "advice" is no advice.

What many of these people also need is the hope of Christ. No matter how much medication you are on, no matter how much therapy you get....if you don't have Christ in your life, you will feel emptiness inside of you (and no, I don't subscribe to the theory that Christian's don't get depressed--I very firmly believe that there are neurotransmitters in the brain that have a real affect on our mood. I AM, however, saying that regardless of how perfect your brain chemistry might be, without Christ, you will never find completion) I don't know how to incorporate that into any conversation that I have--there are a lot of rules as a student, especially in a psychiatric hospital--but I do know that I will pray for the patients with whom I encounter, and I will do my best to be a living testament to them about Christ in my life.

That being said, remember to just be quiet and listen today. What is the Lord trying to tell you? What is your spouse trying to tell you? When talking with someone who is hurting, don't be like Job's friends and try to figure it out, offering unsolicited (and even wrong) advice. Instead, sit next to that person, listen to that person, and most importantly, pray for that person.