Comforting those who need an encouraging word
LIVING ON PURPOSE
By Dr. Billy Holland
For those who have visited a nursing home or a medical care facility, you know what I mean when I refer to these places as difficult and uncomfortable. The sights and sounds are difficult for our emotions to process, which explains why many would rather avoid them altogether. I’ve heard people say they dislike hospitals, nursing homes, or funerals, and this is usually because they prompt us to think more deeply about our own future. When we look around and witness how individuals are coping with aging and health problems, it’s a normal response to live in denial as the old saying reminds us, “Out of sight – out of mind” however, let us not avoid those who suffer, or live in fear about our own future because God reminds us for example in Psalm 27 that He will always be with us and help us. The Lord is filled with compassion and desires for us to have empathy toward others and to see the world as He sees it. “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” II Corinthians 1:3-4.
We are not here to just selfishly enjoy our blessings, but, as Matthew chapter seven mentions, we are to do unto others as we would like others to do unto us. Helen Keller is quoted as saying, “Once I knew only darkness and stillness… my life was without past or future, but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped to the rapture of living.” My friend Ian White, who is a highly intelligent and humorous newspaper editor, shared a story with me about his experiences with nursing homes. He said that many years ago, when he was still living in England, he was the chairman of his hometown’s carnival association, which included an elaborate parade featuring the annual carnival queen and her court of two princesses. These beautiful young women, who had won beauty pageants the previous fall, were now ready to embark on a celebrity tour.
As a part of the carnival promotion, the association would take these girls to surrounding cities and have them participate in parades and public appearances. On each official outing, the girls wore stunning ballgown gowns and crystal crowns that projected the magic of fairy tale royalty. However, with all of the attention and star status, there was one stop on the tour that was not considered glamorous. They were required to visit a cancer hospital for children. Ian found himself trying to persuade these “rock stars” to spend some time on Christmas Day with these kids. It was Ian’s duty to collect the girls and chauffeur them to the facility and, with absolutely no hint of his inner apprehension, convince them that this visit would forever change their perspective on life.
Each year, a new group of celebrities would enter the faculty with trepidation, obviously intent on getting the ordeal over and done with. However, surprisingly, these young ladies remained at the children’s bedsides far longer than anyone would have expected, hugging and chatting with the youth who could hardly speak. The mask of pride and pomp quickly melted into a sobering realization that many innocent individuals live each day with misery and suffering that very few are aware of. As the young women hugged and listened to each child, Ian could sense the power of compassion that was creating waves of gratitude and humility in everyone present. The girls were sincerely grateful to everyone for allowing them the opportunity to meet these special individuals and to understand more clearly how important it is to sincerely share the feelings, thoughts, and experiences of others.
We do not need to be ordained clergy or a popular hero to brighten someone’s day. We all have the capacity to listen and obey God and help those who desperately need to know that someone cares. “Then they also will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you? Then he will answer them, saying, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.”
Dr. Holland is a minister, chaplain, author, and teacher. Read more about the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com
