I looked in her eyes, really not needing to ask the question, but wanting to give her a chance to voice what was on her heart, “How are you, really?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to share if you don’t want to, but I might understand better than you might think.”
I looked up and met his kindly eyes. I had been avoiding them as I sat down, not sure what I would find.
“How are you?”
“Where shall we start?”
“How about the changes since last time.”
“Well, how is it that he lost weight with all the chemotherapy and the same amount of weight he lost, I gained.”
“I noticed.”
“Somehow I didn’t think that’d get by you, but the scales don’t exactly lie do they?”
He didn’t say anything. I think he knew that was a sensitive subject for me.
Excited cannot begin to express how we felt as we entered the doctor’s office that day. It’s always special for a momma to feel her baby move inside her pregnant belly, but it’s a different kind of special for the expecting couple to see their little growing “peanut” on the sonogram screen. We followed the nurse into the exam room, traded my street clothes for the disposable paper gown she offered, and waited for my doctor to enter. When he did, he was all smiles as usual. I liked him. His positive attitude always put me at ease, and made it feel less like a doctor’s visit and more like catching up with a friend.
Both professionally in my private practice as a neuropsychologist, but also personally, if I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it 100 times: “I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything.” People come to me when they are broken and hurting, in need of help, in need of answers. They aren’t sure if their child has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a learning disability, or autism.
Have you ever longed to be part of the group? To be noticed? Accepted? I’ve been there. Wanting to be accepted, included, validated. At a women’s conference, I hoped for the wisdom of a mature woman in the faith for my current heart’s cry. I stood in front of her, waiting in line to have just a few moments of her time. [more]
“I’m worried that, no scratch that. I have a concern that if we don’t address the issue, it could become a bigger issue later on,” I explained. “Why did you say it like that?” “Because our words have power, and God tells us not to worry. So I’m going to choose not to worry in this situation, and trust Him, while taking appropriate action.” [more]
