I was in hospital, having had pneumonia. My body, mind and emotions had all hit a 'wall'. I'd had lunch, was sitting quietly, began to feel emotional, looked up and saw a lady standing in front of me. For a moment, I thought she was a nurse of some sort.
She leaned forward and quietly said, "My name is Julie and I'm one of the hospital chaplains." I looked at her, took hold of her hands - and cried and cried and cried. After a short while, I asked her if she would talk to me about herself so that I could become calm again.
She told me a little about her life and family until I was able to ask if she'd brought me Communion. She had. She said that I didn't need to say the responses; she would say them for us both. That in itself was beautiful. It was as if an angel stood before me and brought Jesus to me. I cried and listened and received my Blessed Lord from her hands.
Afterwards, I told her of all the thoughts that had come to me, lying in bed, during that time; of God, of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. She said that she felt privileged, or some other word like that, to have shared them. We talked of our families. I was conscious that she had others to visit. So we parted. It was the most beautiful Communion of my life.
Jesus was with me the whole of the time that I was in hospital. All the things that I had allowed to overcrowd my brain had been silenced. There, I could hear his voice, telling me many wise things, talking to me, showing me how his hand had guided me. I will not allow anything to come between us again.
I had allowed myself to be brought to a full stop. He brought me through the valley of the shadow of death. His crook is preventing me from going astray and his staff is gently guiding me in the right direction.
I went to sleep that night with the words of the psalm in my head.
You, Lord, are my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where you give me repose.
Near restful waters you lead me to revive my drooping spirit.
You lead me along the right path.
You are true to your name.
If I should walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
you are there with your crook and your staff
with these you give me comfort.
And comfort, that Wednesday afternoon, through the hands of Julie, I was given. It has not left me even now, 5 weeks later. Thank you Julie. Thank you, God, for sending her just when I needed you.
Amen.
Wednesday, 15 March 2017
Sunday, 5 March 2017
About Jesus the welcomer (take 3)
Jesus is an inviter, a beckoner.
He stands, with arms wide open,
waiting for us to approach him.
He is not a 'tub-thumper', an exhorter.
he does not 'finger-wag' us into 'salvation'.
Listen to him saying, over and over again,
"Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest!!"
Then, go to him.
You WILL be comforted,
(even if it is with a crook and a staff!
He knows that sometimes that's just what we need.)
(The crook is to rescue us when we have gone astray,
to pull us out of the messes and pits of life into which we can so easily fall
and the staff is to lead us in the right direction when we are lost.)
Above all, DO NOT BE AFRAID!!
He stands, with arms wide open,
waiting for us to approach him.
He is not a 'tub-thumper', an exhorter.
he does not 'finger-wag' us into 'salvation'.
Listen to him saying, over and over again,
"Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest!!"
Then, go to him.
You WILL be comforted,
(even if it is with a crook and a staff!
He knows that sometimes that's just what we need.)
(The crook is to rescue us when we have gone astray,
to pull us out of the messes and pits of life into which we can so easily fall
and the staff is to lead us in the right direction when we are lost.)
Above all, DO NOT BE AFRAID!!
Friday, 3 March 2017
About the truth which surrounds us
Truth is all around us,
suspended on the airwaves.
If only we could reach out and touch it,
it would enter our hearts and minds
and connect us to the infinity of God.
suspended on the airwaves.
If only we could reach out and touch it,
it would enter our hearts and minds
and connect us to the infinity of God.
Thursday, 2 March 2017
Sunday, 26 February 2017
Another 'going with God' thought
If we travel on God's train,
we will always be in (God's) good time.
we will always be in (God's) good time.
Saturday, 25 February 2017
About being seriously ill in hospital
This post was written on 25.2.17 and has lain in draft ever since. I've read it through and think it's more or less ok to post, so better late than never! Hopefully, it might be food for thought for others who find themselves in similar situations.
In the early hours of Sunday, 5th Feb, 2017, having had an excruciating pain under my right ribs, a 111 call and the lovely lady's call to paramedics brought me to hospital where I was found to have 'severe pneumonia', sepsis and jaundice and, what I would now call a high level of 'mental and emotional strain'.
On Wednesday afternoon, 15th Feb, I came home having had 11 days of the most amazing treatment and care from the (approximately 12) doctors, nurses and caring staff of the Royal Stoke hospital. Rather like the 'tombstone' joke (The inscription reads, "I told you I was ill), I actually was ill. It has taught me a great lesson.
On the very first day, as I lay in A and E, which was an absolutely marvellous experience for me, the so-called infamous 'trolleys' being, surprise, surprise, nothing like Tesco trolleys, but actually, perfectly comfortable padded black trolley/beds; the lovely junior doctor, Tiffany, rushing about finding test results and the like, coming back with the senior Dr, putting me in the picture, I knew that everything that had caused me this stress had to go.
In as far as it lay in my power to do so, I decided that I would never allow anything to put my health in such jeopardy again. The 'anythings' were mostly voluntary 'good works' but when body, mind, emotions and God finally get through, they tell us when enough is enough and that there comes a time when we have to sort out our priorities, and that is what I did; all that has gone.
As I lay there, thinking these thoughts, it came to me that what I've always wanted to do is write and that's what I'm now free to do. I haven't been up to it until today but here I am now, writing in the daytime and not, as usual, when I've had to snatch a late half-hour; so hopefully, this is the beginning of the rest of my life!! I wrote some things in hospital and when the energy returns, I'll try to write them as posts.
PS The effort to do as I hoped above is still a work in progress because life does get in the way of our best intentions and resolutions all the time but at least we can all keep trying.
In the early hours of Sunday, 5th Feb, 2017, having had an excruciating pain under my right ribs, a 111 call and the lovely lady's call to paramedics brought me to hospital where I was found to have 'severe pneumonia', sepsis and jaundice and, what I would now call a high level of 'mental and emotional strain'.
On Wednesday afternoon, 15th Feb, I came home having had 11 days of the most amazing treatment and care from the (approximately 12) doctors, nurses and caring staff of the Royal Stoke hospital. Rather like the 'tombstone' joke (The inscription reads, "I told you I was ill), I actually was ill. It has taught me a great lesson.
On the very first day, as I lay in A and E, which was an absolutely marvellous experience for me, the so-called infamous 'trolleys' being, surprise, surprise, nothing like Tesco trolleys, but actually, perfectly comfortable padded black trolley/beds; the lovely junior doctor, Tiffany, rushing about finding test results and the like, coming back with the senior Dr, putting me in the picture, I knew that everything that had caused me this stress had to go.
In as far as it lay in my power to do so, I decided that I would never allow anything to put my health in such jeopardy again. The 'anythings' were mostly voluntary 'good works' but when body, mind, emotions and God finally get through, they tell us when enough is enough and that there comes a time when we have to sort out our priorities, and that is what I did; all that has gone.
As I lay there, thinking these thoughts, it came to me that what I've always wanted to do is write and that's what I'm now free to do. I haven't been up to it until today but here I am now, writing in the daytime and not, as usual, when I've had to snatch a late half-hour; so hopefully, this is the beginning of the rest of my life!! I wrote some things in hospital and when the energy returns, I'll try to write them as posts.
PS The effort to do as I hoped above is still a work in progress because life does get in the way of our best intentions and resolutions all the time but at least we can all keep trying.
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