Dealing with Frailty

Over this summer, I have had the (Dare I say it?) opportunity to work under David Pacholke at Finley Hospital in Dubuque, IA. To say the least, it may very well have been the hardest form of ministry I have ever encountered. Dealing with frailty on a regular basis gets to even the best of us. We realize it is hard. I can say first hand, it sucks.

This morning I went into a room for a patient that has been at the hospital sometime. She was weak, frail, and ultimately ready to die. But, still unwilling to give up on life. Her family sat around her wiping the tears away, trying to get some handle on why God was taking their mother away. I cannot be sure what they were thinking, but they made it clear that they didn't need me there. They needed to grieve, mourn, and let go.

It has become very clear from the first time I saw this patient that both her and her family didn't have a desire for me to be there with them. In this situation I am aware that the person is Methodist, so I assume they are people of faith. Although it sounds like their pastor has been visiting, it would seem that they would have a desire for the chaplain. Or, maybe they feel like they are covered, as if their is something we can do to feel comfortable about our frailty.

If nothing else, I have come to terms with human frailty. I do not assume to be completely aware of it, but I have come to terms with it. I have found that frailty does not bother me. I know I can break. I know I can die. I know this patient has broke, or is broken. I know she is going to die anytime now.

Here, though, is where being human and being frail becomes significantly important. It is our frailty and sinfulness that keeps us from breaching the chasm between this world and God. Jesus was the only offering that could breach the chasm. In doing so, God met us in our frailty and our sinfulness to give us eternal life through Jesus Christ. My hope for this patient, as is my hope for all humans, is to be aware and have faith in this concept. Because, if the concept is correct and more fact than some sort of religious tradition, it is the difference between human frailty and God gift to, in a sense, be invincible. God's gift through Jesus gives us the opportunity to be infinite. Human frailty then becomes no more than an outside image that we have confused to be weakness. For, through faith, our souls are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. A blood that will never thin, but give our souls a new birth.

In this new birth, we find new life. Frailty then is no more than a false concept put forth by people who have no hope. We though, who are in Christ, have hope. We have life. And we have no reason to fear frailty.