—Psalms 13:2-3
That was the question early yesterday morning from the Arlington, VA, area, asked by our daughter as she and her husband dealt with Hurricane Irene in the home they had purchased just Friday! Without power — as were about two million others on the eastern seaboard — they just wanted to know how much longer Irene would be around. It had been 18 hours already.
"Is it over yet? How much longer?" You asked that as a child when you got your first vaccines or watched a scary movie. You asked it when you went through your first storm. You asked it when you had to sit through an interminable program (like a graduation). You asked it when you sat with your sick child. You ask it of the economic mess our country is in now.
"Is it over yet? How much longer?" You want to know so you can muster the energy to cope, to keep a realistic view of what is happening. But you need someone to tell you, someone who knows what you don’t know, who can see what you can’t see.
"Get online, Dad, and look at the radar. Are the winds and rain going to keep up or are we near the end?"
The Internet is an amazing tool. In seconds I had the latest information available. Wind, rain fall, warnings, vector maps; all there to see if you had access.
"Yes it is nearing the end. A couple more rain bands and wind gusts will abate by noon."
"Thanks Dad, that is good to know!" (I called our two other daughters who live on the north side of DC and shared the news with them, but they already knew…fortunately they still had power.)
Irene is the third hurricane the girls have weathered. They were well prepared, but even when you are prepared, you worry.
You will be caring for patients and family members, as you serve with fellow associates and physician partners. They might well be in the midst of their own personal hurricane and want to know "How much longer? Is it over?"
Provide them with the information they need, help them to see what they can’t see!
Be gracious and prompt, because they are worried!
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