Men,
Do you like
going to hospitals?
I don't. I
think I've adopted a view my grandfather had. He
didn't like going to the doctor and he didn't like
hospitals. His claim was something along the lines of,
"When my friends go to those places, they either don't
come back out, or come back with more problems than
they went in with." As a result, I've struggled over
the course of my life to even make hospital visits. So
wouldn't you know it, this week the Lord confronted me
with this weakness. I am the "on call" pastor this
week and on a day when I was feeling particularly worn
out and uninspired, a call came from the office asking
me to visit one of our church members at St. Vincent
Hospital. My first thought was, oh no, not now, I
don't have anything in the reserve tank for this
woman. But what a blessing it turned out to be.
I stood
outside her room listening to her moan as the nurse
tried a procedure over and over again that kept
causing her pain. I was anticipating an uncomfortable
visit. Lord, what would I say? But once inside her
room, this woman weakened by pneumonia and saddled
with tubes looked up and warmed me with a smile. I
don't remember what I said, I don't remember what I
prayed, I will always remember the spirit this woman
displayed. It made me rejoice. As it turns out, she
ministered to me. My original thoughts of selfishness
were dismantled by a helpless woman in a hospital bed.
It was a memorable lesson, one Paul talks about in
Galatians.
Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of
Christ
(Galatians
6:2)
It's an age
old recipe, but it is a certain cure for what often
ails us. When the Lord gives us the privilege of
entering into another person's life at key times, it
is an honor and a gift. I have so often looked at it
as a burden. But those who continue to experience what
I experienced in that hospital room this week know
better.
It's like
George Merriam once wrote, "There may be times when
you can not find help, but there is no time when you
cannot give help."
I believe it's
at those times when we seek to help others, that the
Lord also gives us the help we really need.
Ron
Looking
forward to praying with you on Sunday in the Prayer
Room at 10:35
a.m.
