Holy Whispers
“Ronda?”
Startled to hear my name called, I quickly put my phone down and look up. My occupational therapist is standing in the doorway leading to the treatment rooms. “Follow me,” she says cheerfully. ‘How are you doing today?”
She chatters sweetly while leading me to her treatment station: a horseshoe shaped table that accommodates two or three patients at the same time. She sits on one side in the middle and her patients sit around the table across from her. It’s a brilliant way to treat multiple patients without running to and fro.
As I pull up to the spot she has reserved for me, I can’t help but notice the gentleman sitting next to me. He looks to be in his mid-fifties and is dressed in shorts, as if he just came from the gym. Yet, here he sits, his right hand in a cast that wraps around his thumb and his wrist, while his left hand works very hard to pick up pins between his thumb and forefinger and place them into a little box. One by one, he strains and struggles to make his fingers execute the fine motor skills required for such a task. I quickly glance away, wondering what might have caused the injuries to both of his hands. But I keep my thoughts to myself and focus on my own treatment.
“I read the report from your hand surgeon,” my therapist says. ‘Let’s just focus on some feel-good treatment for today.” A recent X-ray of my hand indicates significant and severe arthritic changes along with a collapsed wrist. My therapist and I both agree more occupational therapy isn’t going to help my situation, and this will be my last visit. It’s a scary thought that nothing will help my hands improve their strength and function. After inhaling a deep breath and exhaling a sigh of despair, I work my way over to the hand waxer for some feel good hand dipping in hot paraffin.
Hand dipped and snugly wrapped in Saran, I make my way back to the table, once again sitting next to the gentleman with a cast on one hand and working hard with the other.
Suddenly he looks over and asks me, “What happened to you?” Eager to participate in this conversation, I give him the CliffsNotes version of my story. “I’ve used a manual wheelchair for 53 years which has taken its toll on my hands. What about you?” I ask.
Without hesitation, he proceeds to tell me what happened. A few years ago, an aortic embolism ruptured while he was at the gym. He basically died on the spot but was revived and immediately taken to the hospital. After open heart surgery, he “threw some clots” and had a stroke, leaving his left hand paralyzed. I don’t recall what led to the thumb replacement on his right hand, but on Wednesday of this week, he’s having a rotator cuff repair on the same arm as his recent thumb replacement. Oh my, I thought. How much more trauma can a body withstand?
“I’m very motivated to work hard to get myself back in shape and functioning well”, the man continued. “I want to get better so I can help people. I work at Trader Joes and ever since this happened to me, I’m very sensitive to other people’s pain. I believe God has allowed all of this to happen to me so that I can comfort others in their time of physical pain and distress. When people come into the store, I try to encourage them. I try to give them hope that they will get better. And I want them to know, no matter what, God is with them through it all.”
Overhearing both of her patients share their stories, our therapist looks up and nods in agreement. “Sometimes what happens to us is not about us as much as it is for other people.”
I’m immediately reminded that God comforts us in our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted (2 Corinthians 2:4).
Peeling off the warm hand wax, I squeeze it a few times while it is still pliable. Next, my therapist gently massages my hand, and finishes up my session with some ultrasound. This is definitely a ‘feel good’ therapy session, not only for my hand, but also for my heart. My soul has received some much need encouragement and I am thankful to have had this short exchange with the man in the cast sitting next to me. Holy whispers of hope and truth; I am reminded that God’s ways aren’t our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts ,and I silently pray for God to align my will with His.
As I say good-bye to my therapist, the gentleman beside me reaches over and pats my shoulder. “Blessings to you,” he says. “Keep going. Don’t ever give up. You never know the hope and comfort you can give to others.”
I leave the building with a smile on my face, amazed at how the Holy meets us when we least expect it, yet just when we need it. Ya gotta love a God like this!
What About You?
Recall a time when you experienced what we sometimes call a ‘Divine Appointment.’ What made it so special?
God promises to be with us always. He never leaves or forsakes us. His presence in our lives never falters, however, sometimes our awareness of it does. If you were to be more intentional about looking for ways God is revealing Himself to you, what do you think the outcome would be?
We all experience trials and hardships during our lifetime. How have you received God’s comfort during these times and how might you share this comfort with others in their time of trials?
Ask God to open up the eyes of your heart so you become more aware of His presence in you life. Make it a point to pray this prayer often,
