Friday, March 11, 2016

Dearest God,

Your agents of love are everywhere!  When they are revealed to us, we find you.

Our colleague fell ill with pain on our covenant retreat.  Within 18 hours we had to take him to a tiny, rural hospital located in a coal-mining community down on the river in southern Illinois.  Old, small and a bit run down, we weren't sure we could get adequate care for our brother.  But in the emergency room where you had to knock on the old, worn door and wait for someone to allow entrance, we found loving, competent, and tender care. 

During our four-hour stay as two of us waited in the lobby, every staff member smiled at us, letting us know their hospitality, compassion, and comfort.  In fact I can't remember ever receiving so many smiles at a hospital.  They tended to all our needs as we waited for news.

Later as we drove away with a diagnosis, medicine, and instructions for further care, I realized it was you who walked the halls providing not only for the locals but also for out-of-staters whose little faith was enriched by the movement of your Holy Spirit.

Blessed God,
thank you
for life lessons
that sometimes
teach from
the backside.
Forgive us
when we
close ourselves
to your wisdom.
Thank you,
Lord,
for reaching out
to us.

Love, Andrea