Ministry Doesn't Have to Be Big to Be Important

I had an interesting and rare experience while waiting with the husband of one of my choir members during her surgery last Friday. As we were sitting in the neurosurgery waiting area, one of the hospital chaplains came up asking if one of us could serve as a witness for a patient signing a healthcare advance directive document. A healthcare advance directive specifies what actions the patient desires to be taken (or not taken) in the event that they become incapacitated or unable to make their wishes known. Since it would only take a few minutes and we were not due to hear from the surgeon for at least another half hour, I was happy to do so.

I followed the chaplain to the room and there saw an Asian woman, obviously seriously ill, along with her husband and their daughter. The couple was not beyond their mid 70s best I could tell. It was quite clear that she was having some major neurological issues (it was the neurosurgery floor of the hospital after all). Though she was obviously clear in her head, she was not even able to make her hands move well enough to put a signature on the document.  An advance directive is a good idea to have in routine healthcare situations, but the gravity of this woman's medical condition made it an imperative.  The tension in the room was palpable.

The family looked Korean to me, and their name sounded Korean as well, so after signing that I had witnessed her signature, I took a little risk and asked.  They were … from Seoul originally; but their English was quite good so it would be safe to assume that they had lived in the US for quite a number of years. I mentioned that I had been to Korea some 25 years ago and what a beautiful country I thought it was. I asked if it would be OK if I sang a song for them before I left. My trip to Korea was with the Samford University A Cappella Choir, and I remembered a folk song that we sang as a part of our concerts. I looked for it on YouTube, but it seems that the only Korean folk song on YouTube is Arirang.  I'm not sure how to write the title in Korean or in the Roman alphabet, so I won't try.  Even though it's not Arirang, every Korean I’ve ever met knows this song.  I was touched that they sang along with me.

I’m not sure if there’s a neat way to wrap up the account of my experience to make a profound point, but there are a couple of things that I know. I’ll probably never see that family again, but I will never forget how singing a simple folk song from their childhood seemed to help them deal with a stressful situation.  Listening to their pronunciation while we sang, mine was not as far off as I feared it would be … but my pronunciation really didn’t matter. What I did took very little effort, but was a very personal touch: singing with someone in their heart language.

My pastor's message is about ministry this week. I've been wondering what would happen if we looked at all of our encounters with other people this week as ministry opportunities.

That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.

Stuff That Destroys Personal Peace

Boggarts existed in British folklore long before author J. K. Rowling, gave her own interpretation to them. In the Harry Potter world, boggarts manifest themselves as the thing feared most by the one tormented. To deal with a boggart, one should transform the manifestation into something silly, thus removing the fear.

Though boggarts are mythical, some of us move through life unnecessarily afraid of many things that will never happen and should have no power over us. E-mail and the internet have turned well-meaning, nice people into accidental fear mongers. Rowling’s solution for boggarts is a healthy way to deal with the unreasonable fears that may arise at reading some of this tripe. See it for what it really is and it loses its power.

In the spirit of laughing at fear, a friend sent me this earlier this week. Laugh, that the destroyers of peace may be destroyed:

As we progress toward the year 2011, I want to thank all of the Internet for the educational e-mails over the past year. I am totally messed up now and have little chance of recovery.
I no longer open a restroom door without using a paper towel, or have the waitress put lemon slices in my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel.

I can’t sit down on the hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed.

I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pastime while driving alone is picking one’s nose.

Eating a little snack sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of trans-fats I have consumed over the years.

I can’t touch any woman’s purse for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public restroom.

I must send my special thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat feces in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.  Also, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die for the 1,387,258th time.

I no longer have any money, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates / Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail tracking program.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa’s novena has granted my every wish.

I can’t have a drink in a bar because I’ll wake up in a bathtub full of ice with my kidneys gone.

I can’t eat at KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes, feet or feathers.

I can’t use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

Thanks to you all I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

Because of your concern, I no longer drink Coca-Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer buy gas without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer doesn’t crawl in my back seat when I’m filling up.

I no longer drink Pepsi or Fanta since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put ‘Under God’ on their cans (but they really do support Planned Parenthood).

I no longer use Cling Wrap in the microwave because it causes seven different types of cancer.

And thanks for letting me know I can’t boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face, disfiguring me for life.

I no longer go to the movies because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS when I sit down.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from UPS or Fed-Ex since they are actually Al Qaeda agents in disguise.

And I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.

I no longer buy cookies from Neiman-Marcus since I now have their recipe.

Thanks to you all I can't use anyone’s toilet but mine because a big black snake could be lurking under the seat and cause me instant death when it bites me.

And thanks to your great advice I can’t ever pick up the coin dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a molester waiting to grab me as I bend over.

I no longer drive my car because buying gas from some companies supports Al Qaeda, and buying gas from all the others supports South American dictators.

I can’t do any gardening because I’m afraid I’ll get bitten by the Violin Spider and my hand will fall off.

If you don’t send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, and the fleas from 120 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor’s ex-mother-in-law’s second husband’s cousin’s best friend’s beautician.

Though Rowling’s solution for the boggarts is effective in the stories, the most effective solution for fear is truth. Jesus said that His followers would know the truth, and that the truth would set us free. So here’s the truth from the word of God:

But now, this is what the LORD says …: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” (from Isaiah 43:1)

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35, 37-39)

That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.