My Favorite Person of the Week

This week, one of my parents ended up in the hospital. What could have been an even more stressful or upsetting situation was made more bearable, thanks to a stranger. By demonstrating the love and compassion of Jesus Christ, she helped my family more than she could know.

Let me tell you, the emergency room can be a miserable place. Many people there are in pain and the level of anxiety is high. No doubt hospital staff is accustomed to dealing with angry and frustrated people all day long. I was the last of my siblings to arrive and I was relieved to find that my family was still in relatively good spirits—but my siblings had experienced some confusion with the woman who handled the paperwork. Later, after helping to answer questions and complete the paperwork, the woman turned to me and asked if we wanted to go with her down to the hospital cafeteria since she was going on break.

I had the feeling we would have a long night ahead of us, so I grabbed my nephew—a growing boy who loves to eat—and followed her. She was a very lovely person and full of conversation. When we reached the cafeteria, she wouldn’t even let me pay for my nephew’s meal and treated him to dinner! I was humbled and impressed. Admittedly, back when she processed the paperwork, I had figured her to be jaded to the feelings of ER visitors, and thought we were just numbers and data to her. I couldn’t thank her enough for her kindness.

This woman, who I’ll call Sister F, really touched my heart. I mean, she had no reason whatsoever to be so nice. Based on the confusion upstairs earlier, she could have written off my family or ignored us altogether. But through her conversation I learned—not surprisingly—that she is a Christian. Through her actions, Sister F proved she not only knows Jesus, she shows Him in her daily walk.

When we returned to the ER waiting area after her break, Sister F checked on us a few times to provide updates on the progress in getting us to the next step—and gave us a some tips about what to expect. Our experience with Sister F helped to relieve a lot of collective stress—and set the stage for a pleasant experience the rest of the way. Dealing with my parent’s medical emergency was still a little scary, but God is still in the healing business and all is well!

My experience with Sister F reminded me of Matthew 25:35, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” As a Christian, I know I’m always on call to do these things for others—but I was humbled to be among the “least of these” who was a recipient of such kindness.

Thanks be to God for Sister F for her spirit of love and compassion!