Silent Treatment

God's poet is silence! His song is unspoken,
And yet so profound, so loud, and so far,
It fills you, it thrills you with measures unbroken,
And as soft, and as fair, and as far as a star.
~Joaquin Miller

Her rash seemed to have gotten red again. Itching woke her up and tired of having these rashes for a few days now, even after the doctor discontinued her pain medication, she requested to be seen, despite the time being so early in the morning.

“Don’t worry,” I reassured her. “All of your vital signs are okay. But I will keep you here at the Infirmary no matter how long it takes until you feel better. Okay?”

“Thank you,” she responded with a wide smile and a tone of gratitude, while attempting to scratch her puffy eyelids.

I consulted the on-call doctor from the county’s ER. I gave this female inmate having an allergic reaction to something with 2 kinds of shots. One to decrease the swelling and the other to help with itching. Noticing that while talking with the doctor, the pin-point rashes even got slightly redder and seemed to have been more diffused all over her body, I called the doctor back again and asked for his opinion if he wanted me to send the inmate to the hospital for further evaluation. Depending on my observations, he didn’t feel the need to have this inmate be seen, as another order for Epinephrine was given to aid with her breathing.

I reassured the inmate as she needed to wait 2 more hours and our jail doctor would be in, that very same morning. I had the deputy at the back unit bring out a mattress and blanket for her. So she could rest while waiting for the doctor. When morning came, I ordered her breakfast from the prison’s kitchen. I decided to re-check her vital signs as I saw the jail doctor walked in and started preparing all the charts she needed to see that day for doctor’s sick call.

I went up to the doctor and told her about the inmate. She remembered this particular inmate as she just saw her the day prior. I knew the rash would take a few days before they would go down. But I just wanted to make sure that there was no further evaluation or treatment needed for this particular case. She discontinued another pain medication. And told me I did the best I could and things she would have ordered. So, she didn’t need to see the inmate.

I summoned the inmate to the glass partition window. And informed her that the doctor didn’t need to see her but was aware of everything that happened. She was upset at the beginning. But when I explained that there was really nothing to do anymore for the rash since she was being given the medications for it for 2 days already, she calmed down. She accepted the fact that she needed to go back to her unit at that time. I told her to put a sick call and even to alert any staff in her unit if she felt that the symptoms would get worse.

She smiled at me and thanked me for everything I did. I told her to watch out from then on what she would eat, if there was anything new and to start keeping track of anything she would ingest to find out where this allergy was coming from. She agreed.

She accepted not being seen. She accepted that “silence treatment” as there was no other options available. How often do we go through silence treatment from our Greatest Physician when we feel that He must see us and answer our pleas? When everything seems urgent to us when in reality, that waiting period, that silence, will be a period for us to re-think things about our faith, about the way we deal with trials, about the way we trust in His plan? No matter what the outcome…Just because God is silent doesn’t mean He is not listening! God’s silence can be the answer to our pleas! Let us praise Him instead in this period of silence, knowing that during this time, there is a big revelation to come. It is not a silence of despair. For time is nothing to God.

"5guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." - Psalm 25:5 [NIV]

11 comments:

  1. This really spoke to me today Rosel. I have just recently been reminded of this very fact. God HEARS every cry to Him we make. Nothing happens that He isn't totally aware of. What a comfort that really is. Have a wonderful day.

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  2. Rosel,

    What a great post to let us know that not all silence from our Heavenly Father is a bad thing, sometimes He's busy working it out on His end.

    Love and Hugs ~ Kat

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  3. St John of the Cross referred to the silence of God as the "dark night of the soul". Sometimes it really does feel like I'm so separated when He's silent; I'm grateful for the truth that He is God and is working for my good.

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  4. Rosel, that's something I really needed to hear. God has been so silent lately, but I know He is here. I'm still waiting, hoping, praying.

    Thank you sister,
    Lisa

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  5. Rosel, thank you for sharing. Blessings.

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  6. It really does prove our trust when we wait on Him. It's hard though! But then we grow in patience, a character builder!

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  7. Oh, that silence can be almost deafening at times! What a great post - and in God's pefect time:-)

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  8. When we think God is being silent is when He is really working through us feeling our pains and sadness. Rejoice in the Lord and He will equip us to persevere.

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  9. I think sometimes God turns down the volume to see what we'll do. Will we seek Him? Pray? Worship Him? I think we all feel good when someone misses us!

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  10. My daughter has really bad skin issues and so I empathize with this woman. So, you work with women and men? I thought they would be separate. My sister-in-law is fighting an aggressive breast cancer, and she came to mind as I read this. We know He is at work, but in these silent moments as we wait we wonder what his plans ultimately are for her. She is a strong believer that is blessing many within it. Big stuff but an even bigger God. ~

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  11. The silence I receive from God from time to time is what really cranks up my impatience. I know as sure as I'm sitting here typing this what God is wanting from me... To be still and know that He is God. That can be quite difficult for me, but I am getting some better.

    I know I rant on and on like a child about my impatience, but it is truly something I'm wanting to work on. And, I've noticed since I've asked God to give me more patience, it seems I am given more and more trials just to try my patience. Used to I would give up, but now I don't. I still fail at times, but not as often as I once did, which I'm grateful to God for.

    Thank you for posting this. Sometimes, I believe you're thinking about me when writing because your posts sure do hit home with me. :) Love you!!

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"Faith is taking the first step even if you don't see the whole staircase..."
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

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