He Moved Into the Ward With Us.
Dr. John Rosen, a psychiatrist in New York City, is well known For his work
with catatonic schizophrenics. Normally doctors remain separate and aloof
from their patients. Dr. Rosen moves into the ward with them. He places his
bed among their beds. He lives the life they must live. Day-to-day, he
shares it. He loves them. if they don’t talk, he doesn’t talk either. It is
as if he understands what is happening. His being there, being with them,
communicates something that they haven’t experienced in years-somebody
understands.
But then he does something else. He puts his arms around them and hugs them.
He holds these unattractive, unlovable, sometimes incontinent persons, and
loves them back into life. Often, the first words they speak are simply,
"Thank you."
This is what the Christ did for us at Christmas. He moved into the ward with
us. He placed his
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