{"id":14210,"date":"2023-09-15T18:51:43","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T18:51:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pjhmail.wordpress.com\/?p=14210"},"modified":"2023-09-15T18:51:43","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T18:51:43","slug":"visit-today-with-aunt-song","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/14210\/visit-today-with-aunt-song\/","title":{"rendered":"Visit Today with Aunt Song"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi Pastor John,<\/span><\/p>\n

I had the opportunity to visit Aunt Song today during her chemotherapy session.\u00a0\u00a0It impacted me greatly.\u00a0\u00a0I wrote down my experience and wanted to share it with you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

– – –<\/span><\/p>\n

I was able to get a pass to come and sit with her because of wearing my employee badge.\u00a0\u00a0She sat in a corner next to a big window.\u00a0\u00a0She was resting peacefully in the recliner, surrounded by pillows and a blanket, with a pretty scarf covering her now hairless head.\u00a0\u00a0She seemed to glow in the soft sunlight that came through her window.\u00a0\u00a0I sat down next to her, intending to stay only a few minutes while she rested.\u00a0\u00a0She opened her eyes slightly, which seemed to smile, and she said she wanted to see who sat down.\u00a0\u00a0She said it was nice to see a smiling face.\u00a0\u00a0I stroked her forearm that was resting on the chair, but remembering that I should keep my distance, I removed my hand.\u00a0\u00a0She said my cold hand felt good, so I stroked her arm again. For a moment, it looked like she had tears welling up in her closed eyes.\u00a0\u00a0I closed my eyes too and felt the peace that seemed to emit from her, and the love God has for her. She slipped back to sleep under the influence of the Benadryl they pre-medicated her with.\u00a0\u00a0She woke again when a nurse came by to drop off her meal tray.\u00a0\u00a0She held Song\u2019s hand and got close to her face and sweetly asked if she needed anything.\u00a0\u00a0Later, Song needed to go to the bathroom, so I put her shoes on her feet, unplugged her IV pole and slowly walked beside her and her IV pole down the hall to the bathroom.\u00a0\u00a0While walking back with her to her chair, I didn\u2019t feel like I was in a hurry, but I felt that my pace was much too fast for her.\u00a0\u00a0She had become more fragile, slow, and careful with her steps.\u00a0\u00a0I had to be intentional about the speed of all of my movements, even putting the blanket over her feet. I didn\u2019t feel like I was rushing, but in her state, it felt like slow, careful movements with pauses to allow her to regain her strength and catch her breath were not only required, but also were a sign of being thoughtful during this vulnerable time for her.\u00a0\u00a0Once she got situated, I asked if she wanted to try to eat.\u00a0\u00a0Walking to the bathroom and getting situated in the chair seemed to wear her out, and she said she wanted to close her eyes again.\u00a0\u00a0I wasn\u2019t sure if I should stay or go, so I sat down in the chair and waited for a moment. After a few seconds of resting, she started telling me how kind Gary had been to her. She told me that she told her granddaughter, Kate, to not get married to anyone unless they are like Pastor John, or Gary, or Uncle Earl, someone who has given their lives to God, and where everything else is second.\u00a0\u00a0She said to be prepared if you do marry someone like that because you, too, must be that way, fully subdued to God. I told her that if I ever had cancer, I hoped I would go through it as gracefully as she has, and her response was, \u201cyou will.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0She spoke very slowly, with pauses, eyes closed most of the time as the toxin was injected in her body through her port.\u00a0\u00a0She told me about watching the pre-trials of the Olympics and watching the swimmers, and how beautiful that was.\u00a0\u00a0She saw the robust, strong, lively bodies of the swimmers, and admired that while her body had become more frail.\u00a0\u00a0There was absolutely no bitterness in her. She spoke of her love for Gary, and how helpful and kind he has been to her.\u00a0\u00a0She said she would have blood work and another scan after her third chemotherapy treatment to determine if she needed more.\u00a0\u00a0She said, \u201cI hope it\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Things I took away from this visit.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Match the person you\u2019re visiting. Don\u2019t be in a hurry. Be slow with movements. Don\u2019t have a timeframe or an agenda.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    1. Marry someone who is devoted whole-heartedly to God<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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      1. It was truly an honor to be in her presence. She had no bitterness; she voiced of her love and dependence on Gary and the gratitude she felt for his good care for her.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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        1. Our bodies are not our own. God will do whatever He wants to with them to get us closer to Him. We may have to endure hard things, but it will be worth it to keep a good attitude and trust him all the way through. It is the biggest blessing to have someone who cares for you when you\u2019re going through hard things.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Being in the setting of oncology treatment was so much of a slower pace than I am used to in the clinic where I work. Patients were sitting around for hours, resting, sleeping, so fragile, and had to surrender to the poison that would hopefully treat the cancer. It was such a different speed of life and different outlook on life than where I come from in my clinic where everything is fast-paced and where there is room for bad attitudes for minor life inconveniences, whereas in oncology, those patients are fighting for their lives, and the simple things are most valued.<\/span><\/p>\n

          I left her feeling a stillness in me.<\/span><\/p>\n

          Anna\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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          \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Hi Pastor John, I had the opportunity to visit Aunt Song today during her chemotherapy session.\u00a0\u00a0It impacted me greatly.\u00a0\u00a0I wrote down my experience and wanted to share it with you.\u00a0 – – – I was able to get a pass to come and sit with her because of wearing my employee badge.\u00a0\u00a0She sat in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-netmail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14210"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14210\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}