A Good Read for A Confused Woman Like Me...

By virtue of being a health care referral haven (or so I hope!) for children with severe mental illness, I think I have more than the average amount of personal experience interacting with children with extreme behavioral problems. I love this tremendously challenging part of my job; I am forever striving to care kindly and humanely for all children, even those with little or no ability to cooperate for even a seemingly simple toothbrushing.  Every day I come to my job hoping to be gentler, smarter and more efficient than the day before. They do call it practice, as Jeremy often says after a bumpy day.

When a tremendously difficult child comes to see me for dental work, I almost always end the appointment with a silent prayer for their families...something like this always works:

Our father,

Who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

Amen.

Dear Heavenly Father please bless this child and his family as they go about their day today. Please give them comfort and rest as they face the challenges ahead of them. In Jesus' name I pray.

I have the easy job -- my work is generally done within minutes -- but so many families spend day after day struggling with their child's mental disability. And to this there is no respite--often problems only multiply as children become adults. These families need our prayers, support and kindness alone...their job is far difficult enough without our added unsolicited advice. Think of this the next time you outwardly or inwardly judge a parent with a disobedient child at the store.

I have thought and cried and prayed about the recent tragedy in Connecticut. I have tried to ignore the news and the constant onslaught of invasive media coverage of a suffering community and the families it houses. I have kept my mouth shut when it has come to any arguments about gun control and the like, partly out of good common sensitivity owed to those impacted most by this tragedy, but also because I wasn't quite sure how to express how I felt.

What really is the problem here? 

Then, despite my efforts to ignore the news, the facebook feed, the photos, the print media, I fortunately stumbled upon this article. Its truly insightful read. Click now, you won't regret it.

Do I still feel saddened and scared for our world? Yes. But being able to define how you feel about an event that may spark the grand controversy for our time is surely a good thing.

And now I pray again for all people affected by the mental illness of a loved one or a total stranger.