I was once asked the question why. Why do I go to spend time with people I
barely know? When I am beckoned why do I
go without reservation? To answer that
question, I mention my father’s death. There
were those in the days following his passing he said very little to me but were
simply there. They willingly offered
their shoulder to cry on, their ears to listen, and their heart to love and
care. They didn’t have to say anything,
they were simply….there. I have been
preaching on the “Sermon on the Mount” during our Sunday morning services and
the message itself to me has been thought provoking, eye opening, and spirit
convicting. As I prepared for this
Sunday’s message, this verse jumped out at me:
"In everything, therefore, treat people the same way
you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew
7:12)
I thought about when my father died and wondered about what
I needed most. What I needed most more
than anything is people simply being there.
I read this story a few days ago and I want to share it with you.
*******
A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.
"Your son is here," she said to the old man. She had to repeat the
words several times before the patient's eyes opened.
Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he
dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He
reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old
man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement..
The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit
beside the bed.All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly
lightedward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength.
Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile.
He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the
Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the
clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging
greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.
Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying
man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.
Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released
the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she
did what she had to do, he waited.
Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of
sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her. "Who was that man?" he
asked. The nurse was startled, "He was your father," she answered.
"No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in
my life." "Then why didn't you say something when I took you to
him?" "I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he
needed his son, and his son just wasn't here.
When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not
I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed." I came here
tonight to find a Mr. William Grey. His Son was killed in Iraq today, and I was
sent to inform him. What was this Gentleman's Name? The Nurse with Tears in Her
Eyes Answered, Mr. William Grey.............
*******
The most powerful difference we can make in a person’s life
is not by something we can say, it is by simply being there. Offer your shoulder to cry on, your ears to
listen, and your heart to love. You don’t
necessarily need to say anything. Sometimes
the best thing we can say is really nothing at all. Just simply be there, there are others who
will have plenty to say and sometimes it is not necessarily the right thing,
you don’t need to be numbered with them, you just simply need to be remembered
for being there. That is what I want to
do. I simply want to be there. I was told once that as a pastor I am a
representative and ambassador of God and by simply being there, I can serve as
a reminder that God is near. I like to
go deeper with that….I think it is true for any Christian.
