| So, I started doing devotions from this book…and,
it’s pretty good. While it is true that I don’t agree with everything in it,
I’ve still been learning. A recent devotional was about “Generosity;” how
disciples of God give themselves to others, with their time and energy. Like
how Jesus was generous with his time and energy – can people see Him in us?
[Matthew 25:34-40]
A story from the book that really hit me:
Every month Daryl's youth group went to Beverly
Manor to put on a church service for the old people who lived there. Daryl
didn't like to go, but he felt obligated. That's what Jesus would do, Daryl
thought, even though Jesus didn't have old-folks homes in his day. Lucky him!
Though Daryl had gone to five services at the
Manor, he never really did anything. He just stood in the back of the room and
held the hand of an old man. The man's name was Oliver, and he seldom spoke. He
must've been in his eighties or nineties. Most of the time he slept through the
church service. Daryl liked the old guy, though. He used to wake him up and
talk to him, even though Oliver never seemed like he was listening. When Daryl
would get ready to leave, though, Oliver seemed to know and would squeeze
Daryl's hand. Daryl never told anyone this, but each time he started to leave
and felt Oliver squeeze his hand, he would lean down and whisper in his ear,
“I’m sorry, Oliver, I have to go; but I love you and I'll be back next month. I
promise.”
On his sixth visit to the Manor, Daryl was
looking forward to seeing Oliver again. But Oliver wasn't around. As the
service began, Daryl became concerned. He said to the head nurse, “I don't see
Oliver here today. Is he okay?”
The nurse asked Daryl to follow her to Room 13,
where Oliver lay in bed, looking frail and near death. Oliver's eyes were
closed and his breathing was irregular. Daryl walked over and grabbed Oliver's
hand. He had never seen anyone dying before, and he had a difficult time
holding back his tears. Daryl sat with Oliver for an hour. When Daryl started
to leave, He knew he might not ever see Oliver again. Oliver squeezed his hand.
Oliver knew, too. Daryl said what he always said: “I’m sorry, Oliver, I have to
go, but I love you.”
When Daryl walked out of the room, a young woman
was standing there waiting for him. “Hello,” she said. “I’m Oliver's
granddaughter. He’s dying, you know.”
“Yes, I know,” Daryl said.
“I wanted to meet you,” she said. “See, I came to
see my grandfather when the doctors said he was dying. They said he couldn’t
talk, but he could always talk to me. Last week he sort of woke up and said to
me, ‘please say goodbye to Jesus for me.’ I told him that he was going to be
with Jesus soon. He looked at me with the most alert eyes I’ve ever seen and
said, ‘I know, but he comes to see me every month, and he might not know I’ve
gone.’ I asked the nurse if she had any idea what he meant, and she told me
that you came once a month and held his hand. I wanted to thank you for
him... and for me - and, well, I imagine Jesus is very glad to have been
mistaken for you.”
Oliver died in his sleep that evening...
“We can do no great things, only small things
with great love.” Mother Teresa
I thought that this was a really good example of
how things that seem miniscule to us, could mean the world to someone else. We
should always be mindful of what we do, because we can never really know or be
prepared for how our actions affect others – both positively and negatively.
When we go through our lives everyday, is what we’re doing honoring and
glorifying to God? Just something to think about.
~Katie |
