Third Floor-Ada, Ok
Voices hum,
Laughter splatters,
But not for us.
We sit quietly, just me and Mom
Alone in the buzzing family room,
Waiting.
For that nurse to call us, for that one last kiss before they take him under.
For that last prayer together till waking.
The darkness of the early morning physically and mentally chills us. But early morning surgeries are preferable to the pacing and prolonged anxiety that mid-day operations prompt.
Then they came.
And they prayed.
I know people like and think well of my parents. But to me they are just Mom and Dad, Godly folks but plain folks, hardworking and down-to-earth.
Then reality hit me Thursday.
First came Jim, and Joe. Soon came Ken and Wanda, Bob and Gayle, then Tony, then Martha. Later Melissa and her four sweet kids arrived.
Tensions ebbed as our voices melded and pleasant conversation flowed. With each chuckle and grin, a tiny piece of anxiety cracked and fell from the load we carried.
Even mid-afternoon when we settled in his room, Leo and Alene arrived, and Bob and Gayle returned. The next day Dub came, then Tony and Dona and Leah.
Phone calls rained.
The reality became apparent, the reality of dear friends who comfort in times of need.
Reliable as clock-work,
Returning the favor of a visit.
The visits my parents made to them in the past,
The hours they spent in hospitals with these friends and other church members.
Waiting, comforting, laughing, relaying news,
And just being there.
All paid back in kind.
A visit made, a visit repaid,
Of course that’s not why they did it.
They are just good caring folks,
A testament to me of unselfish lives.
An example to me, their adult child.
A reminder that a full life is about giving.
I owe a debt that can never be repaid. And he doesn’t ask me to repay it.
But I have a choice.
I can continue to rush through life, working long hours and coming home exhausted, or I can step back a bit and look for the need of others.
I have to ask myself, if cancer lays me low, will I have a waiting room of friends, or an empty room save my family.
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Matthew 25:35,36, 40 “…For I was hungry and you fed me, …thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you invited me home. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me….Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these,… you did for me.”
-Remember a time you were looked after by others. How did it make you feel?
-What can you do this week for the hungry, the needy or the sick?