Thursday, July 27, 2006

My Friends' Pain

This has been a strange week so far. My two dear friends have elderly mothers. Their mothers are both in their mid 90's and live on their own. Each is as sharp as, actually sharper than, a 20 something. They are both women who have enormous variety in their interests and who care for themselves very well. Each this week has suffered a medical moment. One had a back pain which, upon investigation, was caused by a mass on some internal organ. That mass is malignant and way down the road. Pneumonia has set in in just a short time and although that is on the wane she is being sent home with hospice and the family has been told it's not for long. My other friend's mother also has back pain but she is still home and nursing herself. That friend is so worried that the pain is caused by something more than a pulled muscle that she can't sleep and is wild that her mother refuses to seek medical attention.

Which dear friend is suffering more? The one who knows for sure or the one imagining? I pray for both and see why both situations cause pain and both pains are real and different and the same. Lord help me help them help us all. My husband, who I know in my heart has a deep childlike faith but won't admit it, said the strong faith of the mother with the malignancy will mean that she is handling the situation better than any of her children. I thank God for giving me a glimpse of my husband's core.

Bless us all and carry us through the day ahead.

1 comment:

Greg said...

If by suffering you mean they are worried about their own deaths, perhaps neither of them are suffering.

One knows she is likely to die in a short while. She has had a long and evidently fruitful life. That is a joy.

Perhaps the other would rather not know. Maybe she wants to live in her normal routine until the end. There's strength in that.

If they know Jesus Christ, they are not going to die anyway. They are merely going to leave their current housing.