One of the biggest challenges patients have when they are admitted to a hospital is a certain loss of freedom.
They used to be at home with the freedom to eat what they wanted. They used to have a body that allowed them to go where they chose. They used to not be confined to a hospital bed that has become their new dwelling place.
Now, everything has changed. Illness or injury has taken away some of their freedom to be who they are used to being. Illness has robbed them of their joy.
But sometimes even the seemingly saddest cases of lost freedom don’t produce the outcome we might expect.
Recently, I sat with a patient who was in her mid-20s and going through her second battle with aggressive cancer. The first time, it was ovarian. This time, there were tumors on her brain. She had been robbed of her freedom — robbed of her youth.
As I sat and visited with her, I was astounded to see a wide smile on her face and joy radiating from her inner being. It was dumbfounding. This was not what I expected.
I asked her, “How are you coping with all these medical setbacks? It seems as if I’m sitting in the presence of somebody at the beach enjoying a relaxing vacation. I’m seeing peace.”
She responded, “You know what? I choose joy. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but I figure God has blessed me with 26 wonderful years, a loving family and friends that are as close to me as my sisters. I’m truly blessed — and soon, I will be truly free.”
“I choose joy.” Wow.
I entered the room wanting to be some sort of blessing. Instead, I left the room having been blessed.
Clinically trained chaplains at Adventist Health see and hear a lot of things. We hear deep, dark secrets. We receive tear-filled confessions. We sit with, pray over and hold the hands of all kinds of patients going through all kinds of trials. This is what we are trained to do.
And sometimes, we walk into a room and are blessed with joy. Joy in the midst of trial. Joy in the midst of pain. Joy in a hospital bed. Joy-giving freedom.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2–4).
