An Intervening Hope
I Recently had the privilege of being a guest of the NHS in Wales. I had surgery to repair an injury sustained last year while in South Africa. (They are re-attaching my bicep). Since leaving full time church ministry to work primarily with youth, I have not had many occasions to visit a hospital recovery unit. I had forgotten that overall, the age of the nation is getting older and the occupied beds at NHS accurately reflect that trend. The real eye opener... The thing that takes me aback however, is the stark entrenchment of people's demeanor. Those who have hope seem relaxed and empowered.... Those without hope seem even more hopeless. In college I remember studying Erickson’s psycho-social stages of development and the final stage being intimacy vs. isolation. My visit and surgery has driven home the point of how important the things we do with youth are. Yes, definitely for their eternity, but also for their life here and now. I believe that the experiences we have