"Trouble me..."

"Trouble me, disturb me
with all your cares and your worries.
Trouble me on the days when you feel spent.
Why let your shoulders bend underneath this burden
when my back is sturdy and strong?
Trouble me..."
- Natalie Merchant

I'll post the rest of the lyrics to 10,000 Maniac's "Trouble Me" below with the Youtube video, but when my dear friend Nancy sent it along this morning with a note: "...it's why we do what we do...eh?" all plans for writing today's post with another song as the springboard, were springboarded right out the window.  This was the song.

Yes, this is why we do what we do isn't it my sweet friend?  Nancy is a Christian Science nurse, in fact she is the nurse I wrote about a couple of years ago in  "Nursing...and the law of kindness". 

I am always surprised when someone apologizes after calling for help...especially on Christmas Day -- or in the middle of the night.  Helping others is what Christmas day...and every day...is all about for those of us who have devoted our full-time to serving as spiritual healers and caregivers. I can't think of anything I'd rather do than get a call from someone who needs to feel fellowship in God's love.  It is such a privilege and joy to be invited to pray with them...bearing witness to God's presence in their lives as living, breathing, palpating Love...any moment of any day.  Just ask my husband and children.  And I somehow feel that each of my fellow practitioner, nurse, and military chaplain colleagues must feel the same way.  This is why we do what we do.

As Mary Baker Eddy says in her article, "Love" from Miscellaneous Writings 1883 - 1896:

"Love is not something put upon a shelf, to be taken down on rare occasions with sugar-tongs and laid on a rose-leaf.  I make strong demands on love, call for active witnesses to prove it, and noble sacrifices and grand achievements as its results.  Unless these appear, I cast aside the word as a sham and counterfeit, having no ring of the true metal.  Love cannot be a mere abstraction, or goodness without activity and power. 

As a human quality, the glorious significance of affection is more than words:  it is the tender unselfish deed done in secret; the silent, ceaseless prayer; the self-forgetful heart that overflows the veiled form stealing on an errand of mercy, out of a side door; the little feet tripping along the sidewalk; the gentle hand opening the door that turns toward want and woe, sickness and sorrow, and thus lighting the dark places of the earth."

This healing work of love is not heavy labor, it is a gift, a never-ending, perpetually inspiring, always smile-producing gift. It "happifies existence." It keeps Christmas in our hearts each and every day. It is the "unto us a child is born" that moves within us. It is the real "rapture" and it never ceases to take my breath away.

Through the years I have had the privilege of working with many nurses, chaplains, and practitioners whose care and affection for humanity is just as tireless and true, joy-filled and selfless as this article suggests...and I have been deeply blessed by their example of charity and compassion.   Nancy is one of them. 

Here is a link to the song Nancy sent along with her note... please enjoy "Trouble Me" by Natalie Merchant.

Trouble Me
lyrics by Natalie Merchant

Trouble me, disturb me
with all your cares and you worries.
Trouble me on the days when you feel spent.
Why let your shoulders bend underneath this burden
when my back is sturdy and strong?
Trouble me.

Speak to me, dont mislead me,
the calm I feel means a storm is swelling;
Theres no telling where it starts or how it ends.
Speak to me, why are you building this thick brick wall
to defend me when your silence is my greatest fear?
Why let your shoulders bend underneath this burden
when my back is sturdy and strong?

Speak to me.
Let me have a look inside these eyes
while Im learning.
Please dont hide them just because of tears.
Let me send you off to sleep with a there, there,
now stop your turning and tossing.
Let me know where the hurt is and how to heal.

Spare me? dont spare me anything troubling.
Trouble me, disturb me with all your cares and you worries.
Speak to me and let our words build a shelter from the storm.
Lastly, let me know what I can mend.
Theres more, honestly, than my sweet friend, you can see.
Trust is what Im offering if you trouble me.

Thank you to everyone who has ever let me sit with you in the middle of the night, on Christmas day, or any moment of any day of any year...you have blessed my life with your call. And dear Nancy, thank you for this reminder of "why we do what we do...all my love,
Kate