How Much Righteous Indignation do you get . . .

before it becomes the mortal sin of Anger?

I am just wondering because something happened this evening that has me boiling over. My mom has been falling a lot lately because the Alzheimer's disease is affecting her peripheral vision and her ability to judge distances. Twice in the last week she has fallen and hit her head.

It is the policy of the nursing home that when she falls and hits her head they have to send her to the emergency room of the local hospital which is about a five minute ambulance ride down the road. Tonight she fell and hit the back of her head and raised a pretty big goose egg (that is the technical term, don'tcha know), so the nurse on her wing at the home thought they would probably have to do a cat scan when she got to the hospital to make sure there wasn't a concussion, especially because she can barely respond to verbal questions on a good day.

Well, it turns out that when she got to the ER the Dr. didn't even let the Paramedics unstrap her from their gurney, they just asked if she had lost consciousness and when the paramedics said no the Dr. sent her back to the nursing home without even treating her.

I am livid! Would he have been that callous if that had been his mother? Was he having a bad day? What could have possessed him to be that unfeeling? I just hope, for his sake (and for mom's) that mom doesn't end up with a closed head hematoma, or a broken rib or something else he didn't take the time or energy to look for.

Sheesh! All I have to say is Karma is a bitch, and he will get his someday.

Mom is back at the nursing home where the staff loves her and will watch over her carefully for the next 72 hours to make sure that she doesn't have any ill effects from her fall. I have left instructions for the Dr. to at least try mom out on a walker; with the help of the physical therapy staff there she just might catch on that using a walker will help her balance better (at least it can't hurt to try).

And I am going to say some extra prayers of blessing for the Dr. that that I have been cursing for the last hour. Please join me, he may need them.

Pax

Forgiveness: Did He Really Have to Make it a Math Problem?

Jesus tells us in the Gospel that we are to forgive Seventy times Seven times.


I always hated math.


The truth of this scripture passage has nothing whatsoever to do with numbers though, it has to do with our being willing to be forgiving as God forgives.

This is a recurring theme in scripture, and one that I keep being reminded of, because I tend to hold on to unforgiveness.

My friend Suzanne and I were deep into a session of venting yesterday afternoon. I thought it was actually good for me to get out how much hurt I had felt for years by a particular person, and then I was relating a new hurt that my daughter had suffered by the inattention of someone who was supposed to have her best interest at heart, but didn't really seem to care.

At the time it felt like righteous indignation, and I felt justified in my feelings, but as I thought about it more that evening, and apparently Suzanne was thinking about the same thing, I came to the conclusion that my holding on to feelings of unforgiveness are only hurting me, and in the face of what I have asked God to forgive me for, how can I not forgive those who have wronged me?

In fact when Jesus teaches about the Lord's Prayer the only thing he clarifies is that the extent by which we are able to forgive is the extent by which God will be able to forgive us.

I have a lot of work to do on that score. Thanks Suzanne for reminding me that forgiveness is for me, not for the one who has wronged me.
Pax