Thursday, October 10, 2013

Bam Ram

Well as I have said, I'm not a writer. It's been sooo long since my only blog post that I'm sure the few people reading this thought I would never post again... Well, here I am once again, posting a post for the Glory of His Kingdom.

Now what do I write? What calls me back to post a blog after months of inactivity?

I have a little story to share with y'all (oh snap, West Virginia is taking me over) but first let me give a brief background. I have been working as a Nurse Assistant at a hospital. I took on the job because I felt that God wanted me to serve Him in a place of darkness. Now, I have been used multiple times in moments when people needed prayer and I have been honored each and every time, but nothing had prepared me for what I experienced this past Monday (10/7/13).

It was about 12:30 and I had just finished taking vital signs. Just as I walked out of the patients room, I heard faint.... noise? I don't even know how to describe it. I was curious and I started walking down the hall in pursuit of this noise. As I got closer, it started to just sound like an outright screaming noise... It was too deep to be a child throwing a temper tantrum... What the heck WAS this noise????

I turn the corner and I looked at the source of the noise: a grown man seemingly in his early 30's on his knees with his face and his fists pressed against the wall. My first reaction was sympathy and compassion... I felt the need to pray with this man. Then I looked at about 6 or 7 others standing about 6 feet away from him all huddled together softly whimpering together trying bring each other comfort. My next thought was to lead all these people in a prayer. I felt a sense of urgency...!

As quickly as my fire ignited, the waters of defeat extinguished it as I saw that my manager was standing there speaking to them. That's when fear sank in and the question of "What if she fires me for approaching them as a Christian?" We live in a society where, in most job applications, you say you will not impose religious beliefs or notions upon anyone you serve in the workplace. Once I thought about it, I literally did a 180 turnaround and walked the other way.

Defeatingly and with shame, I walked back down the hall. I still heard the man bitterly weeping over whatever situation I did not know about. As I walked away, I thought "That wasn't the right decision... I don't know what was, but that was NOT it.." I felt God's conviction so much that I hadn't walked but 10 steps before I decided I was going to go back. I felt that just because I wasn't allowed to publicly pray for these strangers, I could at least show compassion and love.

I quickly walked into the dry storage closet and grabbed a box of tissues. I quickly walked back to the family silently praying to myself "God, please let me find a way to reach out to these people. Father give me the words to minister your loving kindness. Please help me-" and as I turned the corner, I was blessed with one of the most beautiful sights I'd ever seen. This family, my manager, and even the weeping man had all gathered around a PATIENT! I don't know if he heard the crying, or if he was just going for a walk (as many patients end up doing out of boredom from being in bed), but here was this elderly man wearing a hospital gown, probably suffering from an illness himself, and he was boldly leading this family in prayer.

 His prayer had just begun and everyone's eyes were closed and head bowed. I looked at my manager who was also partaking in this and I just felt a sense of comfort. I placed my hands on shoulders of the old man and my manager, bowed my head, and closed my eyes in union with them. I felt people staring at us as they walked by, but I did not care. I wanted them to see what the Holy Spirit can do for this family. I wanted them to see the warmth that God provides, even in the darkest hours... The man prayed a wonderful and comforting prayer that even eased the tears of this man who had been wailing. It was beautiful, my friends.

Now... With that overly detailed and long story, I'm going to wrap this up with an important lesson I took away from it. This whole situation reminded me of Abraham's obedience to sacrifice Isaac. It was something he dreaded, but he knew that God's Will had to be carried out. So in a moment of fear, he chose to do what was right (no matter how wrong his humanity told him it was). We all know how that story ended: 1) GOD provided a ram caught in a tree as a substitute sacrifice... and 2) God's glory was exemplified through the obedience of Abraham.

In my obedience, God rewarded me with a situation that did not compromise my job yet also provided for what was very much needed. I am now closer to my manager as a result of my returning, not because we get along better now that we understand we are believers, but because I am honored to serve under a Godly woman.

Quick note: I don't want to give myself a big head... I don't always listen to God when He convicts me of something. I am human just like anyone else... but, in the event that I did, I was so blessed by listening to Him that it brought me back to type my second blog post.