The hospital visit

‘Joan is in hospital. Please pray for her.’ Sarah read the words on the church notice sheet. She did not know Joan well, but had spoken to her occasionally while having a cup of tea after the service. Joan was a frail, elderly woman. She came to church on her own and very few people seemed to talk to her.

Sarah made a note to pray for Joan but wondered whether there was any more she could do. She had not been a Christian long and was quite new to the church, but remembered a sermon a few weeks before. ‘I was sick and you visited me’, the preacher had quoted from Matthew 25. He had also said something about if we do it for others, we do it for the Lord. That sounded good to Sarah. In her new found faith she was keen to do something for the Lord. She mentioned to one of the elders that she would like to visit Joan. The elder seemed pleased, but gave Sarah no advice on visiting.

Unsure and nervous

Sarah planned to go on Tuesday afternoon. She had never been in hospital herself and never had cause to visit anyone in hospital, so she felt unsure and nervous about what to do. She thought that she would like to take Joan a gift and had heard that quite a lot of people take fruit and flowers into hospital. Thinking that Joan might have some of these already, Sarah bought a bookmark from the church bookstall. She hoped that Joan would like it.

On Monday, realising the importance of going within the visiting hours, she rang the hospital to enquire about these. On Tuesday she caught the bus and arrived at the hospital.

Sarah was naturally shy and as she went into the hospital she felt a bit overwhelmed. Everybody, except her, seemed to know where they were going and what they were doing. For a moment she considered leaving and going home. She thought of Joan and of the Lord and made her way to the ward. It was just after the beginning of visiting time and, nervously, she entered the ward and enquired at the desk as to where Joan was.

Curtains

Arriving at Joan’s bed, Sarah met her first problem. It was surrounded by curtains. Sarah thought of pulling them apart a bit to see what was happening but, deciding against this, she asked a nurse. She was glad that the nurse was friendly and she was told, with a smile, that Joan wouldn’t be long. Sarah hung around self consciously and wondered, wryly, about the definition of ‘long’, but, eventually, the curtains were pulled back, an apology from the nurse for keeping her waiting, and there was Joan.

Joan looked frail and tired but greeted Sarah with a warm smile. ‘I’m so glad you came’, she said. ‘My son lives away and I don’t get many visitors.’ She accepted Sarah’s bookmark gratefully and Sarah saw that she already had some flowers and grapes.

The flowers looked like the ones which were in church on Sunday and Joan said that the church visitor had called in with them. Joan obviously appreciated the opportunity of someone to talk to and Sarah learned a lot about her life and her son and his family. ‘Is this them?’ Sarah asked pointing to a photograph on the locker. Joan said, proudly, that it was and seemed delighted that Sarah had noticed. Joan told her all about her grandchildren, and Sarah was genuinely interested in everything she said.

Sarah was aware that Joan liked to talk and felt the best thing that she could do was to listen. After a while she noticed that Joan seemed tired and she felt it was time to leave. ‘Would you like me to come again?’ she asked, tentatively. ‘I would like that’, Joan replied and Sarah felt good.

Shall I pray?

She wondered whether she should say a prayer. She had written one out because she wasn’t very good with words, but would Joan be embarrassed with other patients being in the ward? She decided to ask her. ‘Joan, I have written out a prayer for you. Would you like me to say it now, or shall I pray for you when I get home. Again Joan was positive, so, speaking quietly, but loud enough for Joan to hear, Sarah prayed for Joan. ‘Dear Lord, thank you that we have been able to meet this afternoon. Please be with Joan and surround her with your love and care. Please be with Joan’s son and his family and with the hospital staff. Amen.’

Joan repeated the ‘Amen’ and said a prayer for Sarah which she appreciated very much. Sarah held her hand for a moment before leaving. As she was leaving she wondered whether to talk to the other patients in the bay, but feeling that this might be intrusive, she smiled to them. However, one lady beckoned her over and said that she had enjoyed her prayer. Sarah left thanking God for the opportunity of serving him and visiting Joan. That night she prayed for Joan again before she went to sleep.

The following week

Joan was still in hospital the next Tuesday, so Sarah returned, more confidently this time. She and Joan had been chatting for few minutes when Tracey appeared. Tracey was Sarah’s friend from church and they had not had time to chat for a while. After saying ‘Hello’ to Joan, Tracey enquired after Sarah’s family and they were soon deep in conversation. There was so much to catch up with and the time went very quickly. Suddenly Sarah felt bad and guilty. Joan was lying with what she thought was a sad smile on her face. ‘I’m so sorry Joan, we came to see you’, she said. ‘That’s all right, my dear’, Joan replied. ‘You young people have a lot to talk about. I was young once.’ Sarah thought Joan looked sad and lonely and made a promise to herself that Joan would not feel neglected again.

‘This is my son’

When Sarah arrived the next Tuesday someone was already there. A smartly dressed, middle aged man was in deep conversation with Joan. ‘Hello, Sarah’, said Joan. ‘This is my son, John. He has come all this way to see me. Isn’t that kind?’ John and Sarah said ‘hello’ and, despite both he and Joan saying that she was welcome to stay, Sarah realised that they needed that quality time together, so, saying that she would come another time, she left. At first she felt disappointed. She had spent quite a lot on bus fares and had put off something else to come but she had learned that Joan was the important person and, in just going, she felt that she had served her Lord.

Holding hands

The following week Joan seemed very unwell. The staff were monitoring her carefully and Sarah made the decision only to stay for very few minutes. She sat quietly, holding Joan’s hand, not asking questions or trying to engage Joan in conversation. After a while she asked quietly, ‘Shall I pray for you?’ Joan opened her eyes, smiled weakly and nodded. Sarah prayed another prayer which she had written and Joan said a faint ‘Amen’.

Sarah left and found herself crying, she wasn’t quite sure why, but she felt God would understand.

On the church notice sheet was a short announcement. ‘We are sorry to inform you that Joan died on Wednesday, but we rejoice that she is with her Lord in heaven.’ Sarah whispered a prayer thanking God that she had been able to visit Joan and that she had been able to serve him.

Tears of thankfulness

After the funeral service Sarah was slipping away when someone caught her arm. ‘Thank you so much for going to see my mother in hospital. She really enjoyed your visits.’ Sarah thanked John and found a quiet place to shed a few more tears, this time of thankfulness to God for the privilege of serving him.

She saw the elder again the next Sunday and said that, if there were more people in hospital, she would like to visit them. She felt that if she had been a blessing to Joan she had equally received blessing from her and looked forward to serving the Lord again in the future.