By Michele Thompson, BCC, Lifeline Volunteer Central Texas
I looked over the census for the floor I covered, as I did every day, planning who I would go visit, usually based on how long they’d been here. There were several patients who had been here for more than a week and needed to be seen. Then my morning got interrupted by some administrative things, and before I knew it, most of the day had passed and I hadn’t seen anyone. I looked over the census again, and a certain patient’s name stood out to me. I’d learned in rounds that she had recently been diagnosed with a debilitating disease and was having a hard time coming to grips with it. I’ll call her Julie. She’s my daughter’s age.
I knocked on her door, stepped in and introduced myself. She immediately began to cry. “Please come sit down, Chaplain.” She buried her face in tissues and cried some more. “Julie, do you want to talk about what’s going on?” She composed herself and began to share that she had been losing her strength and balance gradually over the last 2 years, and just a few months ago had received her diagnosis. She was overwhelmed by it. She was afraid of what the future held. She felt it was robbing her of her ability to be present and active with her young family. All I could do was listen and affirm her feelings and fears. I had no words that would magically make things better.
Her life was complicated. Her mother had advanced cancer, and because of their problematic relationship, Julie had made the decision to pull away from the toxicity that could impede her own healing. She’d experienced several years of alcohol abuse after the devastation of losing a 7-day-old baby to SIDS. She was sober and determined to remain so. I asked where she found hope and strength. She said she had run away from God in the past, but now found herself needing God’s help. When it seemed appropriate, I asked if a prayer would be helpful, and the two of us prayed aloud together in tandem for God’s healing and strength.
As our visit eventually concluded, she asked “Why did you come today?” The question took my breath away for a minute. Then I said, “Sometimes I go about my day just visiting patients. But some days I feel God is purposefully leading me to someone’s door. That’s what happened today. I believe God led me specifically to come see you.” We both got teary-eyed. “I think God did lead you to come see me,” she replied. “Thank you for listening to him.”
Friends, you may be going about your day, making your hospital visits, wondering how much of a difference you are making. But you know when God has specifically led you to knock on a certain door. You may not know until your visit has concluded, but you know. What a privilege we have—to serve God’s precious souls. Let us continue to minister with great expectation that God will lead us where we need to go.