Moments of Joy—from a book by the same name–
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in the bed for an hour each day to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window would sit up, he would pass the time describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside.
The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened through these mental pictures of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake filled with ducks and swans, children playing, young romantic couples… The man by the window described all of this in exquisite detail, so the other man could see it in his mind’s eye. Days and weeks passed.
One morning the nurse arrived only to find the man at the window had died in his sleep. The other man was saddened. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window and the nurse was happy to make the switch. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look out the window. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing for himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled the roommate who had described such wonderful things outside his window. The nurse said the man was blind and could not even see the wall. “Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.”
Anytime we can encourage each other with a word in person, on the phone or even through a card, I think we should take the time. Nowadays things go so fast and if we just slow down enough to encourage each other not to give up but to think about what might be uplifting for our brothers and sisters on the way. I would like to see more people getting hand written cards and messages from each other as we have had to slow down during this virus scare. I know the only mail I open until bill day is the hand-written messages I sometimes receive. We could all use a little more encouragement to be the kind of Christians that reach out and let another person see the lovely view we have.
Grace and peace be with you,
Pastor Angela