The Woman Without A Face

There was a time I was a student minister, it seems in a past life almost.

Part of the duties/training/ministry was to make hospital calls.

At the time I was used to sick people. My Grandpa died at home from cancer that had spread to the lymph glands. We all had a hand in his care. This was in the day when folks took care of their own. It's very rare now.

I made myself available to anyone when I was at the hospital. Woulda been kinda stingy of me to restrict ministering to just parishioners huh?

Most of my work involved praying with and listening to folks who were patients and their families and friends.

Counseling is a funny business. People come to a counselor, minister shrink etc with varying problems. What's a problem for one might not be for another etc. Often though, counsel is sought in times of crisis. Be it ill health, marital woes, personal struggles, there is often a point where things seem hopeless or pretty bloody rough. It is healing to seek words from another.

There are many who, when faced with whatever daunts them, want to dump it all in someone else's lap. Instead of solving their own problems, they attempt to have a surrogate take on challenges that are actually their own.

Now it's often good to seek an outside ear, even when one has competent friends, parents, teachers etal. But it remains that folks many times pass the buck. Well they try to do so.

As a counselor, I have best summed it up by saying good counseling/therapy boils down to helping people help themselves. that's good advice for people in almost any situation.

Sure, you might mneed to sort things out. How cuh better to sift around with the help of another. Someone on the outside might see something too close or otherwise overlooked by the person in need.

Helping people help themselves is a lost art for some in this entitlement ridden long suffering Republic.

It's the only cure for what ails us or else we will succumb to a police state.

What of the woman without a face you may wonder at this point.

One time I was visiting another at a local hospital. Across the hall I heard someone say 'hi'. I turned and there wasw a woman whose head was covered in bandages. Two holes for eyes, one each for the nose and mouth. I said hi back.

She had been in an accident where her face was so disfigured, she literally had none. It would be a long painful process to rebuild.

As we talked she was very matter of fact about it. Scared, sure. But she was certain she would pull through. She was not going to let this get her down for good or stop her.

Her voice was gentle almost healing. Quite something for one so set back.

I realized that I was not there for her. She was there for me!

Some counselors get too set in their ways. They give in to an overdose of selfconfidence. Wait til that world is shaken!

That woman without a face had a soul, a spirit that was ready to get going. There was no 'woe is me', nor excuses. It was 'Let's get through this cuz I've got a lotta living to do'!

Yes some need guidance. But then they need to be pushed out of the nest, unless they become too comfy.

A lot of people with faces could still learn a lot from this faceless woman.