On Monday, Becky emailed me “if you ever want to see how chemo goes, I’m open to having some company. I’ll be at Stoddard cancer center from 10 til about 130 tomorrow if you happen to be around.”
So I went to see how chemo goes.
The treatment room is a large open room with 15-20 recliners lining the walls and partitions. Each recliner has an IV pole nearby and flat screen tv within site. There are also small rooms with beds off to one side of the main room. Becky told me they were for patients who need to stay all day. There is a nurse’s station overlooking the rooms and the recliners. Busy nurses move in an out of the station, tending to patients. Occasionally a beeper will go off, letting the nurses know that the chemo bag is empty and it is time to hang another one.
Women and men of all ages, reading magazines, watching the television, some sleeping. All within sight of one another. The room was surprisingly quiet, maybe it has become a routine. There is a sense of reverence about the room. The quiet felt holy.
I was invited to see how chemo goes. The people there didn’t come by invitation. Everyone else in the room was there to receive chemo. They came because this was where their journey had led them.
I think it is surprising where our journeys lead us, the places where we find ourselves. A room full of people with a shared diagnosis. Partners in a journey no one chooses.
I think of other journeys, other places I have visited sometimes by invitation and sometimes because my journey has led me there. I visited Mitchellville Prison and I looked around and wondered what led all these women to this place. I sat in the parlor of a funeral home, not by invitation but because my journey led me there. I wondered about the other people who found themselves in that place, sat on that couch, felt what I felt. I think of those who find themselves in a courtroom, something went terribly wrong, and they find themselves before a bench, someone in a robe trying to sort it out.
Of course, not all of our journeys lead to tragedy. There are sunny beaches, the comfort of our homes, bright classrooms, and delivery rooms where newborns arrive and begin their journeys. Healing places. Sanctuary places. Hope-filled places. Taken-for-granted places.
But the chemo room was not on anyone’s list of “Fun Places To Spend Time.” And yet there it was, a room dedicated to pumping hope and healing into ports. Fiercely chasing down cancer, telling it to “SCAT!” Chemistry fighting evil.
I open my bible and I read of Jesus standing in the courtyard of Pilate’s palace. Roman guards surround him, spitting on him, mocking him, torturing him. A horrifying stop on his journey. And then the cross. A destination no one would choose.
Was this all God’s way of saying God go would to the depths for us? The God of Courtyard, the God of the Cross is also the God of the chemo treatment room, the God of the Mitchellville, the God of the funeral home, the God of the courtroom, the God of our journeys. Declaring hope when all feels hopeless, absorbing our pain, present in the struggle, insisting on sharing our journey, witnessing to the worth of our souls, of us.
Healing. Healing. Healing.
Where are you today? God is there, too.
Every blessing,
Pastor Cindy
Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Ave
West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
515-279-0826
We worship at 8:30 and 11 on Sundays and we would love to worship with you.
This week at WDMUMC:
On Sunday in worship, we will ask a big question: what is God thinking? If we want to walk with God, we need to have some idea where God is going. You are invited to join the conversation.
State Fair! Our church continues to serve up walking tacos at the state fair. Thank you to all our volunteers!
Special Charge Conference Thursday, September 13 at 6:30 for the purpose of divesting of the houses. All are invited to attend. Members will vote on the proposal.
Want to serve? Sure! Here are some great opportunities!
Dr. Jones from Hillside elementary needs a volunteer on Thursdays to do some pick and delivery for the school. This requires a reliable person who can do some lifting and has a decent size car.
Janet H is also looking for volunteers to help with the Booster Pack program providing food for area children and families.
Sunday morning coffee servers are needed!
If any of these ministries interest you, just reply to this email and I will forward it to the coordinators.
Road Construction Continues! This Sunday the corner of 8th and Grand may be closed due to construction. My best advice is to approach the church from the south on 8th Street. If your health allows, you can park at Hillside. If you need to be close to the building, you will be able to enter from the west entrance.
See you Sunday!
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