Observations from a hospital bed Part two.

Observations from a hospital bed part two.

I have found that this second article in the series is the most difficult to write because it places me in the centre of the story. However, I should not feel uncomfortable because that is exactly how the Church started. The first members going out and sharing their experiences of Christ.

When I was admitted to hospital with Pneumonia, I was desperately ill and they had great difficulty in controlling the infection. I was so weak that I had very little fight left. Then they wheeled a new patient into the next but one bed. Through my haze, I recognised Fred, an old neighbour, followed by his daughter Jill. Margaret grew up as a neighbour of the family and used to baby-sit the children. Without thinking, I got up and went to see if I could help Jill. There was nothing particularly worthy in that and I am most certainly no Saint. It is simply that since service to others has been central to my beliefs for most of my life, like one of Pavlov’s dogs, I just react in a pre determined way to the correct stimulus. Once up, I then realized that next to Fred, was Peter another neighbour, with whose wife I regularly walk the dog.

From that point onwards I started to recover. At the same time, during the next week I was able to offer support and practical help to both patients, the staff dealing with them, and very importantly, their families. It also gave an opportunity to lift the mood of the rest of the ward. For instance there was plenty of laughter when Margaret showed pictures of herself leading Fred’s son, dressed as Andy Pandy, in the Coronation street party fancy dress parade.

On other occasions I have written that God doesn’t always answer prayer in the way that we expect.Also, that often he uses the same incident to deal with more than one problem.Now, it is possible to say that having two people that I knew in beds adjacent to mine, was a coincidence.However, given the enormous number of people in the catchment area of the hospital, I do not believe so. I am certain in my own mind that God dealt with a whole range of problems including myself, the other patients, and our families, by ensuring that we were placed together. For instance, when Peter was eventually moved to The Margaret Centre, Margaret was able to help his wife settle because of her own connection as a bereavement counsellor at the Centre.

As I wrote in the first article, God uses the relationship between people to effect their lives. He also knows where and when their talents can be used best. It is quite remarkable how often exactly the right person is placed in the correct place at the right time. If God is to be able to use us when required, then it is one of our tasks as a Church to ensure that each one of us is ready to answer that call whenever it occurs.Also, that we are armed with the strength and knowledge necessary to deal with whatever that call demands. Lastly, to support each other in whatever ways other members feel called to serve. The strength of the Church is that we are not alone and this enables us to do far more on God’s behalf.