Tuesday, July 2, 2013

God In All Things - Part II

 
 
Like my friend Rosa, I am revisiting the question of God in all things, that Ignatian principle some of us were writing about yesterday.  For Rosa, a homeless woman.  For me, three men.  Five men.  Mothers.  A father.  Caregivers.
 
Three of the men are connected to my church and have been in the hospital this past week; one of them has escaped to a rehab facility.  The primary caregivers for all of these men, in their forties, fifties, and sixties, are parents ~ not spouses or partners or children ~ which tells you some things about the curve balls life has tossed their way.  One of the men is massively disabled as the result of a car accident thirty years ago when he was sixteen and was, I learned yesterday, in possession of a Congressional nomination to Annapolis.
 
Thirty years his parents have cared for his every need.  Thirty eff-ing years.
 
He is seriously ill, in intensive care, and today his two housemates from his group home, along with a caregiver for each, came to visit him.  It was decided that his condition was such that they should await another day, but when I left they were still there.  I know nothing about the story of either of them, but they are not permitted to be without one of their caregivers, even in a hospital waiting room, as I learned when I offered to stay with them awhile.
 
Sometimes I will come across a blog post, or an essay, in which the writer confidently and carelessly remarks upon the rewards in store for those who parent young adults, the pleasures of daughters and sons-in-law, of grandchildren, of presiding over an extended family of multiple generations.
 
Me? I am working on that concept of God in all things.
 
 

3 comments:

  1. Oh friend...I would very much like to just go for a walk with you today....

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  2. God in all things . . . what a staggering phrase that is.

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  3. Beautiful and thought-provoking post. I agree with what Flacie wrote...very difficult.

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