Colors

(This is a continuation of posts about my experience with Guillain Barre Syndrome that began with the post called Heartbeats.)
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When my eyes opened, the first thing I saw was a colorful abstract painting hanging above my bed. I was pretty sure it was not made by adult hands. I was right. The painting was done by a child from the church I was attending when I became sick. As I looked around, I saw drawings and cards all over the walls in my ICU room. Many of them were hand made by children from the church. Most of these children I didn’t know, but they knew there was this Mr. Bernecker who was very sick and needed cheering up and their prayers. I will always remember waking up to that abstract painting and seeng everything else on the walls.
A few years before I had said that there was no place for organized religion. I was beginning to come around to thinking differently before I became sick. After seeing the ceiling and walls in my ICU room and having the support of so many people in the congregation, I knew there was a good reason to be surrounded by others that care about you. I now see a difference between organized and institutionalized religion, and I am not a fan of institutionalized religion. But that’s a discussion for a later post. I do hope that groups would use the resources I have on this site to organize and support one another.
This post is relatively short because I feel this subject is so important that it needs to stand alone. I invite you to share your own experiences when you were surrounded by the support of others in a time of need.