The Beginning of Wisdom

I followed the nurse’s directions but I wandered if I’d taken a wrong turn. I was relieved when I finally saw the camp sign at the corner of the dirt road. It was a rustic camp with one road, a half dozen campers and a pond under construction. Larry and Wanda’s home was an 18 foot camper on the left. A garden hose stretched from a water spigot to their camper, about 40 feet. Another larger camper was on the right. There was a crowd of people on the covered deck, standing motionless, staring at me as I drove up the road. I felt their eyes following me as I walked to the camper. To my surprise, there they were again when I made my second visit. Again they were standing motionless staring. This time it was a little eerie and I concluded, ‘If I’m going to come here every week I’m going to have to confront these people’. As I stared back I suddenly realized it was a crowd of manikins, probably placed there by the owner, to discourage would be thieves or vandals. It’s humbling to admit I was stared down by a group of manikins.

Larry was in his 40’s when referred to Hospice for terminal cancer. He and his wife were struggling in every way; financially, legally, emotionally, spiritually, relationally.. But Larry was very intelligent. His wife told me, “He’s so smart. He uses such big words, sometimes I don’t even know what he’s talking about.”

About a month after his admission to Hospice Larry and his wife separated. He moved to a dingy motel sleeping room. He was alone, desperate, angry and bitter. It was one of the saddest endings I’ve witnessed in my 16 years in Hospice. I asked Larry, ‘Are you spiritually ready to face death?’ He replied, “I gave God a try once but things didn’t get any better for me. So I gave it up.” I suggested he had things turned upside down. I explained that you must surrender to God’s will; God doesn’t surrender to yours. But he wrote God off. He died two days later.

Now, I want you to compare Larry with my old friend Ed’s daughter. Barbie is in her 60’s and is mentally retarded. I would guess her mental age around 5 or 6. Anytime something good happens she says, “Thank you Jesus”. Ed was just telling me about a close call. They escaped a near collision with another car and Barbie automatically exclaimed, “Thank you Jesus”. Barbie has such a sincere childlike faith. Jerry may be more intelligent but who is really the wiser? You see, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10)

I’m reminded of a written verse about the Bible given to me by a 35-year-old female patient several years ago. It is simply titled, “The Bible”. The third and last stanzas are the most inspiring description of God’s word I’ve ever read: “Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you; food to support you; and comfort to cheer you…Owned, it is riches: studied it is wisdom: trusted: it is salvation: loved it is character: and obeyed: it is power.” Let’s not neglect such a great and powerful gift in our times of need. Let’s be truly wise.

I encourage you to leave your comments and feedback on this blog or you can e-mail me at hardinl@somc.org. I’d love to hear from you.