Love for the Middle

Someone once said: "Everyone loves you when you are a little child and when you're old, in between these times, you have to take what you get and deal with it"... or something to that effect.

I hold my two hands up, guilty as charged. I love children, and more recently, have a deep admiration for the elderly.

Today however, I am speaking for "the others". The Middle.

We are the ones responsible for the dependent ones at both extremes of life. We take the blame for their crap literally.

An obese toddler running around with an over-soaked diaper and the first thing that comes to mind is "Irresponsible parent".

An elderly gentleman comes into the bank looking unkempt and smelling of urine and you think "I wonder who looks after him"

Us! Well at least most of the time.

Today, I am deciding to take a step back for a minute and just appreciate the struggles of our present age.

I mean, some children are just born annoying. They whine for everything all the time, never listen or never stop talking, eat everything they shouldn't and refuse actual food, go into places they shouldn't, and refuse to go into places they should- like into the nurses room to get their injections.
(Flashback to the day the nurse and I were trying to pull my larger than average 3.5 yr old from under her desk to get his pre-school booster).

Let's be honest, some of these "lovely old ladies" were right birches in their heyday. (Spelling error noted.) 

And I bet some of these "elderly fine gentlemen" had nothing fine or gentle about them once upon a time.

 They may tell us nice and colourful stories about the good old days, so we do not see that they were the mean boss or lazy co-worker, or the guy who sprayed graffiti over the church door or felt too pretty or too cool to get along with their neighbours. 

Where is this coming from, you ask?

Well, I had an extra appointment booked by an anxious mother whose 9 month old had not passed stool for a few days then started passing rainbow colours.  Bright green, yellow-orange and red - with photo evidence.

The child was happy as Larry, and we soon uncovered that she had eaten some beetroot the day before the red stools. Mum on the other hand, was very frazzled and needed a hug. She had clearly not had a full night's sleep in a while. This baby had the most beautiful smiles...which quickly turned into dry wailing when she sighted her mother's boobs, demanding a feed. I tried hard not to fall for the super cuteness. Today is Love-for-the-middle day!

Later on I paid a home visit to an elderly Octogenarian lady whose son was very worried about a rash on her legs. She clearly wasn't. She answered the door with: Shoes off please!, This was followed by: Can you get me a drink please love? Can you turn up the microwave for 4 minutes. Can you pass me that bag there, okay look inside for my hospital letter- 2 minutes later ...Oh its not there, can you go an look in the pile over the fireplace.

Gimme me a sec, I need the bathroom - 8 minutes later... "Well, I will tell you the full story. It started when I was a little girl....."

I mean, I was glad to be of help and did enjoy her story in the end, but I could not help but envisage her as a bossy diva in her 30s and 40s and it annoyed me a little.

So I am going to be nice to my fellow Middle-lifers today. I am going to smile at you and make funny faces for no good reason. I am going to pull your cheek and rub your hair and offer you my seat and offer to carry your heavy shopping bag. 

Do I hear you say it'll make me look creepy , crazy , desperate or suspicious?

Ok, I will just go back to loving the old and young then, deal with it!

Worry

How often do we, Christians, commit our burden to the Lord in prayer, only to subconsciously decide that we would rather bear the load ourselves, and retrieve it by worrying.

Worry leads to physical and psychological stress which in turn leads to various physical and mental health illnesses including Hypertension (raised blood pressure), Anxiety and Depression, Irritable bowel, Low self esteem,  Hair loss and Obesity amongst others.

Perhaps this analogy will paint a clearer picture:
A young woman was having a very stressful time dealing with her difficult boss at work. It was taking it's toll on her whole life and she could see no way out of keeping her job and working alongside him.

She visited her parents one weekend. They were hosting their close friends and she discovered that the company she worked for was owned by her father's friend!

She explained the difficulties she was having at work and he said to her. "Don't worry, I will sort it out."

Immediately,  she felt like a heavy sack had been physically lifted off her shoulders. Unlike previously, she enjoyed the rest of the weekend with her parents, not anxious even for a moment about the start of a new week at work. No Monday eve jitters.

That is trust. Faith. In man.

Yet, when God, whom we proclaim as the alpha and omega, tells us not to worry, we are not convinced. We need evidence. When? How?

We must learn to let go, trust God and let not our hearts be troubled.

Have a faithful and fruitful week ahead!
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