Christian Living

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Oh, What a place this is ....
The high walls and windows; the figures clad in blue; visitors toing and froing - relatives and friends to see.

The clock ticks. The time is 2. Visiting hour begins, and no-one comes through the doors. The staff with heads bent are busying over their desks; forms to fill in, charts to update, tubes to put in/pull out, and pills to pop in weak or resistant mouths.

At 3.25, the door swings open and in comes a young woman vibrant with life and a happy smile.

She tilts her head and catches the attention of the still-gazed gentleman, strapped with tubes to his chair, and a round-cornered sticky pink square adhering a tube into one of his nostrils.

The couple exchanged 'hellos'; him delightedly. A visitor unexpected in the stillness of the perimeter of his bed.

An hour passed, a little over the end of official visiting. The two had exchanged current topics, family news, jovial chat, memories
and a loving Christian embrace.

The passing figure in blue had said that she'd extract his tubes when his daughter had gone.

A smile had passed between the two; the elderly man and the younger woman.

How sweet it was that she thought they were linked by blood, father and daughter, when in fact they were linked in Christ - the blood of Christ - as brother and sister; God's children.
Brother and sister who care for each other, because Jesus cares for others.

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As God's children, our family circle is worldwide; brothers and sisters across the nations. Often, our own blood relatives can be more remote than our church family whom we see during the week and on the special day that we meet to have fellowship, and nurture that special bond we have in knowing that we are all loved equally and forgiven for our sins.

Sometimes, our 'brothers and sisters' might be the same age as our own children, or older than our own parents, but it doesn't matter. We are equal in Christ, instructed to love one another as we love ourselves, to care for one another when poorly or in need.

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Thank you Lord, for friendships, especially for those with whom we have a real sense of nurture and kinship.

Thank you for true love in Christ and Christian love, which we can express to others whom we know, and those we don't know.



Phoebe Carter (24th October 2010)

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SURELY, GOODNESS AND LOVE WILL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE, AND I WILL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOR EVER
NIV Psalm 23;6


NB Since originally writing this article in October 2010, the very dear elderly gentleman from my church has gone to be with our Lord.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF ALAN HADFIELD 23.05.1923 - 27.01.2011

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