“Somebody cares for me.” An immovable part of the feminine life is tending the sick. You can give stressed, clinical, minimal care. Or, your home can be the best hospital in the world. I have seen an exceptional grocer bag my groceries (back when that happened) with an amount of innovation and care I would not have thought possible. Any job can be done at an elite level. So too is the life of helping the ill. Your children can have much better than the average American. They can have a keeper at home for a mother.
Edith Schaeffer has a great chapter titled “A Shelter in the Time of Storm” in her book What is Family?. She says, “A family is a well-regulated hospital, a nursing home, a shelter in the time of physical need, a place where a sick person is greeted as a sick human being and not as a machine that has a loose bolt to be shoved aside because it is no more fun, or no longer useful.”
How can you make sickness some of the happiest memories of childhood?
Edith says, “The happiest memories of childhood can be the tucked-in, cared-for feeling that came when you were eating a poached egg on toast, orange juice, had just had a bath and clean pajamas and sheets, and Mother was reading you one of your favorite books. It turns past sickness into happy memories.”
Some of Edith’s tips are:
- cool hands stroking the forehead
- clean sheets
- lovely drinks
- gentle massage and refreshing smells
- remedies given methodically by the clock
- flowers near the bed
- curtains drawn when the eyes grow tired
- soft singing during a sleepless night
- crushed ice wrapped in a linen handkerchief for a fever
- compassion
- clean pajamas and combed hair
- nice little snack plates
- a story or some music
- illness supplies kept ready at home
- food trays made fun with a little decoration or playfulness
She also emphasizes, “When illness hits we should remember that this period of time is part of the whole of life. This is not just a non-time to be shoved aside, but a portion of time that counts. It is part of the well person’s life, as well as the sick person’s life.” And, “we are to recognize that to waste this time is as much a loss as wasting a time we might think of as the height of productivity.”
I see two common pitfalls in caring for the ill. First, give your service with no strings attached and don’t become irritated if anyone doesn’t seem thankful enough. Second, if someone never cared for you, don’t become embittered, but delight in starting a new family heritage. Actually, three pitfalls. Don’t be lazy!
“…he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”
Matthew 10
