07 December 2006

Would You Wear a Guillotine?

My job provides me with some of the most random conversations ever. Our mental patients are priceless because they'll blurt out some of the oddest things--sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes just confusing.

Today I had one of those confusing moments. As I helped one young woman at the cash register, she pointed to the silver cross charms we sell and said, "What's this? A symbol of the crucifixion?"

"Yes," I said. "It's just a charm, not a necklace or anything. Just kind of a reminder."

She wrinkled her nose. "I don't know about you, but if I got executed I don't think I'd want people reminding themselves with little charms. Y'know what I mean? Like, if I got my head chopped off, it'd be kinda gross if people ran around wearing little guillotines."

At this point I was so caught off guard and baffled that I just gave my usual response to Random Confusing Mental Patient Statements: the straight face, the nod, and the noncommittal "Hmm."

Now I'm wishing that I had been quicker on my feet, because if she really thinks of the cross as just a macabre reminder of some guy's execution two thousand years ago, then she's pretty much missing out on the meaning of life! Hello! Why could I not open my mouth and say something?

But even now, I'm not sure exactly what I should have said. How do you explain the Gospel to a mental patient? It's hard enough for us to really get it even when we're not mentally handicapped...not because it's all that complicated, I guess, but just because we don't want to understand it. We don't want to think that we're not in control of our own lives.

So I don't know, maybe the mental patient thing wouldn't be as big of a factor as I think. Maybe I just need to learn how to speak up when something needs to be said.

1 comment:

Jill said...

I love that she said that! In fact, I think she "gets it" more than most sane people. John Piper has said that when Jesus commanded us to take up our crosses daily and follow Him, it wasn't all that different from telling us to go through life with electric chairs on our backs. What happened at the Cross was horrible and gruesome, but also necessary. I'm not sure what I would have said to this lady, but something along the lines of "You're exactly right. But what makes it beautiful is the Resurrection."

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