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Saturday, August 06, 2016

At Just the Right Time at the Hospital

        The hospital waiting room was busy all day, but now at 10 p.m. it was quiet and nearly empty.  At opposite ends of the room two men were sitting, both with some kind of smartphone or that sort of an internet device.  At the Welcome receptionist desk an older woman was on the phone.
The younger man stretched and stood up.  He crossed the room to where the other man was sitting.  “Excuse me, got a minute to talk?”
Gerald looked up with a sad look on his face.  He nodded, so Randy introduced himself.  Gerald noticed the name tag this stranger had on his shirt,  “Listening and Praying.” 
Randy explained, “I’m a volunteer here at Good Samaritan Hospital for the night shift on Mondays, and I walk the halls and pray for who’s in each room.  Don’t know what ails him or her, but I pray God’s love and God’s healing for each one.”
“Well, I’m a working man and I’m usually at home snoring.  But Betta had a seizure, so she’s in there, and I’m out here.”  
“OK if I pray for her healing and for your peace of mind?”
“Sure, but I guess I should own up:  I don’t know about God.  Never found out enough to believe.”
“Any particular irritation?”
“Nah,” was Gerald’s reply. 
  A long silence followed, then Randy spoke in a kindly tone of voice,
“Dear Father,  we ask You for Your healing touch for Betta.  Give the medical staff the knowledge they need for the proper treatment, let no mistakes be made.  But let your love surround Betta so that she is calm and confident as You take away any pain and heal her from head to toe, inside to outside.  Thanks for that.  Now, bless Gerald with a new awareness of Who You are, and how much You love him.  Amen.”
Again it was quiet. 
Then, “Hey man, thanks a lot.  You were here just when I needed someone.”
Nothing was said by either man for a few minutes.  
Now it was Randy who said, “I’ve been impressed with three main facts about believing in one God, the Maker and Creator of everything.  All that we see and have discovered about the world seems so logical.  
“There was no tiny bit of slime that evolved from nothing and gradually, very gradually evolved into every thing on earth.  If that evolving was true then there would not be any worms or mosquitos or dogs, they would all have evolved into humans by now.”
Gerald had a thoughtful look on his face as Randy continued, “The second thing is a little complicated.  But think of it; we humans have the ability to choose.  We’re not programmed like little robots.  God gave the two humans he created the opportunity to choose, they could follow the one rule He told them, or they could do the opposite.  Well, they chose to disobey and from then on there were consequences that came to demonstrate what was good and what was not good to do.
          “Every person has this ability to choose.  And the huge responsibility falls on everyone at their age of understanding.  What you choose here and now in this lifetime on earth seals the deal for where you go after death.”
“Well, you’ve got me thinking,” Gerald commented.
  “The biggie is this:  Jesus was a real person. The things he said and the things he did irritated the leaders so they had him crucified.  Three days later he actually came back from the dead, was seen by over 400 people.  Forty days later he visibly arose up in the sky then out of sight, in front of a bunch of people.  
        "And all of this fulfilled ancient prophecy that God would send a Savior, His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die for our sins. Anyone who believes in him and asks will be forgiven of their sins.  Instead of punishment after death each believer goes to an amazing life after death.  
“Wouldn’t this awesome Creator be able to do anything?  One God,  one life here on earth now, one big decision:  to believe and trust and obey Him or risk losing everything permanently, a punishment we can’t even imagine.  So, it’s His love that calls to each of us.  And . . . “
“I never looked at life and death that way.  I never understood that God loved me.”
“Well, let’s talk to Him again.  Dear Father, speak to Gerald’s heart so he can believe that You really love him. . . “
Here Gerald spoke up, “Yes, God, I do want You to forgive me and . . . and heal Betta quickly so I can tell her the good news about Your love, too.”                    
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by Elaine Hardt ©2016