Visiting

One of the things that my parents did a lot of while I was growing up was visiting. They would make hospital visits, home visits, nursing home visits, etc, and oftentimes, my siblings and I would go along with them. My dad was a minister, so I think in many ways they were expected to do a lot of visiting.

I'm going to be really honest here. I hated visiting the elderly and sick when I was a child... especially hospital and {what I perceived as} death-bed visits. I'm pretty sure I was never taken on any actual death-bed visits, though. Regardless, I was terrified that I was going to see someone die in front of me. Why that was always on my mind, I don't know, but it was.

Visiting is something that I believe is expected of us by God. I do take verses like James 1:26,27 and Matthew 25:31-46 very seriously. Also, I know that God expects us to treat others the way we would want to be treated, and of course I would like to be visited if I were homebound or ill or on my death-bed.

However, I admit... visiting is difficult for me. I still don't like to go to hospitals or nursing homes or even make in-home visits to shut-ins or elderly much. And yes, that makes me feel like a terrible person.

Even with people I know and care about (such as people we go to church with that we know well), I just never know what to talk about and there are sometimes awkward silences. And, somewhere in the back of my mind, I think that I'm still afraid of seeing someone die or have an episode of some sort. The bottom line is that it makes me uncomfortable.

But, it's not all about me, is it?

I want to be better at visiting. I want it to come more naturally to me. I want to be less afraid of it.

Part of this will come with practice, I know. Also, I will say... visiting is much easier with Brianna. She's a great ice-breaker and conversation starter. I need to learn to lean less on her, though.

What are your tips and advice for making visits?