[Faith-talk] Good Night Message for Tuesday, January 28, 2013

[Paul]

Hello and good morning, afternoon or evening wherever you live in this world.  I hope that your day is going well or went well.

Today's story has a bit of a mysterious element to it, though you won't find that out until the very end.  Entitled "Who Was That Man?," it was written by Richard Bauman, a writer from California, who begins the story with the following disclaimer:  The story is true, but all names and locations have been changed.  And now to the story itself.

As the nurse hung up the phone, she said to her co-worker, "Mr. Dunston's son is here."

"I'll go meet him at the elevator," replied the nurse's aide.  Should I take him to Mr. Dunston's room?" The nurse nodded, as she studied the paperwork in front of her.

Edward Dunston was in Central Hospital.  His 85-year-old body was failing.  Barely conscious when he arrived by ambulance three days prior, he asked for his son, Luke.  Whispering, he told the nurse that Luke was in the army and stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Now he was in and out of consciousness.  Most of the time he didn't know if it was day or night, and he usually wasn't aware of the nurses changing his bed, inserting I.V. needles or taking his blood pressure.

The aide met Luke Dunston at the elevator.  She was surprised.  To her he looked too young to be Mr. Dunston's son, more like a grandson, she thought.  But she said nothing.  "I'll take you to your father's room," she said, and walked quickly down the hall.

She entered the dimly lighted room and went to Edward's bed.  She softly said, "Your son is here, Mr. Dunston." His eyes opened, he looked at Luke and smiled.  Then he closed his eyes to sleep.

Luke sat down in a chair at the bedside, took the old man's hand, and started stroking it.  Luke whispered to him.  The nurse's aide heard him say:  "I'm right here.  I'll stay with you as long as you need me."

Throughout the night as the nurses monitored the elder Dunston's vital signs, they knew he probably wouldn't live more than 24 hours.  They were all relieved his son had arrived to be with him.  Several times they asked the younger Dunston if he wanted something to eat or drink.  Each time he shook his head in reply and held onto the old man's hand.

At about seven in the morning, the monitors at the nurses' station shrieked, announcing the death of Edward Dunston.  As nurses entered his room to remove monitors and I.V.'s, Luke Dunston was still holding the old man's hand.  He let go, only when the nurses started to offer their condolences.

Then, he said:  "Who was that man?"

Wide-eyed, one of the nurses asked, "Wasn't he your father?"

"I've never seen him before in my life," replied Luke.

"If he wasn't your father," demanded one of the nurses, "why didn't you say so when you walked into his room?"

"I had wondered what my dad was doing in the middle of Ohio, since he lives in Paris, Texas," he said.  "As soon as I saw this man, I knew there had been a mistake.  But if I'd said anything, you all would have sent me away.

"He needed his son.  He was too sick to recognize that I'm not him.  But I was here, his son wasn't, so I decided to stand in for him." Corporal Luke Dunston stood, turned and walked to the elevator, leaving the nurses to ponder his words--and his deed.

Later that day hospital staff located the correct Luke Dunston.  He had been in the army, and his last post had been Fort Bragg--but that had been 25 years earlier.  He lived in California.  The old man had apparently become confused about his son's location.  Though he wasn't able to be with his father during his last hours, he did return to middle Ohio to see his father one more time and to make the funeral arrangements.

He also learned from the nurses about Corporal Luke Dunston, the total stranger, who stood in for him and comforted his father in his last hours.

And there you have Richard's article for today.  The only conclusion I can draw is that God sent an angel to the elder Mr. Dunston during his last hours on earth.  Do you all come to the same conclusion?

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, throughout this night or day and especially in these last days in which we live.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul