Let's see...a day in the life of Rick Wood, pseudo-pastor/car surveyor/super dad. This week I got to take food and grocery story gift cards to a lady we met in our drs office. (We have the pleasure of meeting some interesting po' folks like us at the Magnolia Clinic...which is for Medical...the Cali version of CHIP, except adults can be on it.) So we meet a lady, let's call her "Jane" who of course was drawn to our cute kids. We struck up a conversation and after hearing about her last three years of medical history, I told her that I was a pastor locally and that God was sure keeping her alive for a reason. I gave here a card with info and went in to the check up for Caleb (who is the cutest kid in the world).

Well long story short, Jane needed some help so I took her some goods. Now this is where the story really starts.

I walked out of my door on a beautiful sunny SoCal day in my uniform, Shorts, sandels, TShirt, and by the time I got to the church, it was....RAINING...yes, gasp, rain in sunny socal! So I had to take Jane her stuff and make a hospital call.

The hospital call is actually the story. A phone call to our church from a hospital. Now this man to whom I spoke, well what I could make out on the phone, needed a ride from the hospital. I didn't know him. His only connection to our church is that he knows a man in our church. So I grab one of our elders and drag him with me. Now this is where you might go to hell if you laugh, but in hind sight it is actually sad and funny.

This poor guy is like broken in half. He is leaning severly to one side, like his spine is colapsing, which in fact it is. He has a whole cart full of stuff, almost like a homeless person, but it seems to clean to have been on the street. So I sneak out and talk to the nurse. She asks me if I know where I am talking him and I tell here that he supposedly has a room in town somewhere. She says he has been very vauge about his living cirumstances. So I am thinking, "Okay, I know of a homeless shelter as a last resort." So off we go.

Now mind you, it is still raining, I am still in shorts and sandels, we don't know where we are going. So we get down to the van. My new friend, "Bill" looks at the seats while Dale (Elder) and I load all of his stuff up. Some of which comes tumbling out of the back of the van and some xrays fall out of a bag and start to float down the drain! I scoop them up and stuff them back in a bag, unbeknownst to my new friend Bill (not real pastoral huh) and then we poceed to help him get into the van.

Thirty Minutes later.

As he screams in pain trying first the front seat, then the rear, then blankets on the seats, front and rear, each time in and out, yanking his own body around, screaming in pain, laboring to breath.

Me in the rain...wet sandels....cold, watching this man struggle thinking, "This guy is getting OUT of the hospital?" Kicked out was the story.

So he gets in finally. Then as we are pulliing away he asks if the back van window goes down (no) because he is claustrophobic (spelling), as he is clawing at the window. So I roll down the front window. In the rain, I sit for our twenty minute ride, in sub arctic temperature (like 57 in SoCal is subArctic).

He does have a place to live. He is a follower of Jesus. We prayed together, with him hanging on me like a child, very thankful for our service to him.

But what do I do now? He basically was kicked out of the hospital becasue he refused to follow the nurses orders because he thinks he is misdiagnosed. He called me to see if I would be able to take him to the hospital, but I was at my day job and had to take my missionary friends to the airport...so I told Bill to call an ambulance and I would come to the hospital asap.

He wants me to look at xrays, and his swollen legs, and stuff...I am not a doctor! I told him, I would speak to his caretakers and try to make sure he was sufficiently cared for, but I am not qualified to offer medical advice...what are we as "Christians" supposed to do here? Where do we draw the line as pastors? How do we help people and know when it is enough and know when it is not enough? 

Holy Spirit come. Holy Spirit dwell. Fill your church with joy overflowing, and peace overflowing and love overflowing in all of your beauty. Come.

I guess I will have to find out on my own. Pray for me new sick friend Bill. Who I believe wants to be better. Pray for healing, Jehovah Rophe. Pray for wisdom for me.