Every day, health care becomes a major concern in our lives. Whether employed or unemployed, single or with a family, just retired or an aging individual, the concerns are high.

With all the controversy of trying to get everyone insured, it should be a concern. You might say that you don’t want to be responsible for making sure all are provided health care or you may be one who says, go ahead, everybody deserve health care, even at my expense.

With the high rise of various sicknesses, financially obtaining and keeping health care in our lives is slim to none. That means today you may be covered by insurance because you can afford it, but tomorrow you might not be able to afford it. These concerns are growing in numbers with our current recession.

The old health care for a lot of us began when we were children, and we weren’t concerned at all. Thinking of my childhood days, I can’t recall my parents being that concerned about health care. Occasionally, I would hear my dad talk of it increasing every year, but he expected that. Whenever any one of our family members became sick, I can remember Mom becoming the family doctor. She didn’t rush us to the doctor every time we became ill or got a cut or sore. With nine people making up our family, can you imagine the amount of money it would have cost to keep us healthy by having regular doctor visits or going every time our stomach ached or we got a cold or flu.

We didn’t have that problem, because for preventions, my Mom would give us a teaspoon of castor oil with sugar. Ugh, I still can remember the taste. It would make some of us gag, but if we didn’t get the full dose, we would have to repeat it until we got it into our stomach.

And if by some chance one of us would come down with a fever and body aches because of the cold or flu, she would mix up this sugar, lemon and a certain dark alcohol beverage and let it brew on the stove. Then, we were given a dose of it and put to bed to sweat it out, and we woke up feeling well. Then there were times when one of us kids got an open sore or cut, she would clean it our with peroxide, put some iodine on it to fight off the infections and grease it down with Vaseline and wrap it with a piece of rag, not a Band-aid, and believe me in a couple of days, it would heal like it never was a cut there.

Oh and I can’t forget the kiss she would give us, I believe that was what made it heal quicker. I also remember one of us breaking a limb or getting a cut so deep it required stitches, she would take us to the doctor to get the stitches or the cast placed on, but believe me, that was it.

She would remove stitches as well as cut a cast off. Some sort of way, she knew when they had healed.

But I wouldn’t suggest you try those techniques today, even with your own family member, you might end up with a malpractice suit.

Although health care has changed since my childhood, one thing shouldn’t have to change and that is the compassion we should have for one another.

So, what do we do today for our health concerns? That question cannot be answered so thoroughly with our political arena fighting over how they would take care of our lives. Even I don’t know how I will be affected by these issues in the days to come, but I do know that it all involves our looking out for one another.

Biblically through our compassion, we are still obligated to help one another. The Bible says that the poor will be with us always, so what is new. Everyone can’t be rich. If so, there would be no reason to worry. We just have to jump in there and do our parts and stop being like the people who ignore the fact that there are those who need help. When I think of our helping out or just ignoring that help is needed, it draws my mind to the attention of a parable of an incident when a man was visiting another town and was beating down by thieves who took his clothing and was left for dead.

It tells you of three people who traveled that road and saw the man lying there. Two of the passersby were of the church sector and the other person was just a person of compassion. He tended to the man’s injuries and then took him to a place that would further tend to his injuries.

He not only helped the man, but paid for the bill. And his compassion also allowed him to make sure that the man received the best of care and that he did not have to worry about the bill.

It wasn’t to say that the man probably could not have paid his way, but we got to focus that the man was robbed of everything and was placed in a position where he couldn’t not only take care of himself personally, but also of his financial obligations. With that in mind, we must realize that we might be financially able today to pay our way in life, but one day life and life experiences are going to rob us and place us where we can’t help ourselves. It may be a loss of a job, a loss of a second income because of a spouses’ death, being divorced, or it could very well be because you were robbed of your retirement because of the stock market.

Life doesn’t seem that secure, but it is so good to know that if ever you are robbed of your materialistic life, don’t be robbed of your joy.

That joy is knowing that God is the same. Just like he sent a compassionate person to help the stranger in the Bible days, you are no exception, the same hold for you. In this time of woes, let health care be governed by a God who will send help when help is needed.

Beverly Gibson is a Ferriday resident.