Moments With God.
Advent Week 4
Love
Thursday, December 23
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The only child in Pediatrics ICU, he sat up in bed, his head bandaged, with mom and dad standing nearby. They loved their child, and they would not leave his side. We stood outside his room and sang Christmas carols, and our children walked up and gave him a little stuffed animal, a sucker, and a special pencil.
Then there were the "preemies". Because one of our group was a nurse in the unit, we were allowed to quietly walk through and sing our carols...past the darkened rooms with incubators holding tiny lives fighting to grow up in this world...past the room of parents sitting and holding their precious bundles... down to the end of the hall, where we were met by a new mother and dad, baby and nurse -- with a shine in their eyes at the miracle of their baby...as we sang about another baby.
Down in the Intensive Care Waiting Room we sang to parents, and children, and friends of people to whom Christmas was seeming very far away. And then, one of the men in our group knelt before a toddler in a stroller, and gave her a little stuffed animal. The family of that little girl, all sitting and waiting...and praying...for someone they loved to just get better -- that day they saw Jesus-love, shown by a man who stooped down to a child...and gave.
Standing in the doorway of the Intensive Care Unit, with songs of Christmas wafting down the long corridor, our prayer that accompanied the songs was one of hope, and healing, and a special touch from the Great Physician.
Soon we were on to other floors, walking past many rooms filled with lonely and sad people at this time when the world outside the hospital walls was busy scurrying around, buying, and wrapping, and offering wishes of cheer. Soon, people began peeking out of their doorways, watching and waiting for the music to come their way. Of all the people that day, three will stay in my heart forever. At one room a middle-aged man pushed his elderly mother up to the door in her wheelchair. As she sat and listened to the carols of Jesus, she began to mouth the words to the songs...songs she had learned long ago. And then, in love, the son reached over and began to pat his mother on the shoulder -- and my tears began to flow. Now we were not so much bestowing the gifts of love, music, and stuffed animals, but instead we were permitted to witness this special time...and it blessed us.
With wishes of "Merry Christmas", and "Thank you for letting us come", we continued down the hall. As we walked past one man's room, we noticed he was crying. The sadness, the loneliness, the pain, and the season were almost more than he could bear. Quickly grabbing one of the last stuffed animals, one of our group ran into his room and shared...trying to show Jesus-love by a few minutes of time, a bit of conversation, a prayer, and a stuffed animal. When we left to go on down the hall, he was no longer crying. He no longer felt so forgotten.
Finally, there was the little boy who was home from the hospital -- after a long period of chemotherapy. His parents bundled him up and brought him out to the porch of their mobile home as we gathered around and sang. It was a blessing to see them -- their family together once again – enjoying the Christmas season through very thankful eyes.
By the end of our caroling we had left stuffed animals, and pencils, and suckers with many people from many different life situations. But we had taken far more than we had left. We had taken images of faces, of smiles, of tears...we had taken sounds of "God bless you" and "Thank you"...we had taken requests to lift up to God in prayer. And those of us who met to spend just a couple of hours singing to people in the hospital...well...I, for one, know it changed me. The gift of love is not only a gift...it is also a teacher.
Anne Baldridge
Springfield, Illinois, USA
Father,
What a blessing we receive when we show Your love to others. We can only imagine what many are going through -- many who need that extra touch of love from someone who cares.
We pray that at this very special time of year, we can be a blessing to those hurting souls all about us. Help us to see the need and respond so that others may see Your love being shed upon them through our lives.
We lift this prayer in the Name our Lord Jesus,
Amen
[Psalms 2] [Zechariah 2:10-13] [I John 4:7-16] [John 3:26-31]
or suggestions to Yvonne Edwards.
Edited: Dec. 22 10:30 a.m.
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