Relief Is Spelled T-R-U-S-T

For the past three months my wife has had to seek relief from injuries sustained in a bicycling accident. She was struck by a pickup and knocked off of her bicycle. Thankfully there were no broken bones or injured organs. However, she has had significant pain from which she is trying to recover as the muscles heal from their bruising and tearing. All along the way she has had to trust other people. The emergency room staff did testing and reported their observed results. Our doctor has prescribed several powerful medications. The physical therapist put her through a series of procedures. In each case she was called upon to trust these providers. To the degree she felt she could trust them she could anticipate healing and be relieved of concerns about the process. When she didn't feel she could trust a provider she became discouraged and weighted down by concern.

Similarly, as school has begun, parents have met the staff with natural concern about the teachers to whom they were entrusting their children. Some new students were especially apprehensive about their first day. At the end of the first day yesterday parents came to pick up their children and see how it went. There was noticeable relief in the faces of some parents as they realized their trust in us was justified.

At my wife's work place her nearly 3 year olds just moved up to their next level and new teachers. One of the parents of a child she had cared for for almost three years expressed how good it has been to be able to go to work knowing that their child was in good hands. They trusted my wife's care. Another family has left their 2 1/2 year old with us for up to 10 days at a time at our home while they went on business and medical trips because they could be free of worry about his care.

When people know they can trust us it brings relief to their lives. However, once that trust is broken that relationship is damaged and much time is required to repair it. We each need to examine our trustworthiness. We can bring relief to the lives or others or not depending on how much they can trust us.