[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Friday, January 24, 2014

[Paul]

Hello and good Friday to most of you, and a good Saturday to you in countries outside the Americas.  Sorry to be late, but I was involved in a quiz that I couldn't leave and had to be there when called on to answer a question.  But now that that's over, we can do other things.  I hope that your day is going well, no matter the time of day or day of the week, by God's matchless grace and His providential care.

Malinda Fillingim is a writer living somewhere in North Carolina and, I believe, either blind or visually impaired.  Anyway today she graces our Braille displays and/or screen readers with her contribution entitled "Bathroom Blessing," rendered as follows:

Whatever else can be said of me, I cry well.  During the four months that my daughter Hope was in the hospital, crying became a habit.  I tried to be strong for her sake.  I bravely held her hand and reassured her that everything was going to be okay--even when I really wasn't so certain of that myself.

One afternoon, I was completely worn out and needed a break.  I needed a quiet place to pray.  I needed a place where I could break down and no one would notice.  The only place I could find was the large bathroom off the lobby.  There, I locked the bathroom stall door and began to cry.

My sobs echoed throughout the tile-floored room.  I blew my nose on toilet paper and flushed the toilet, hoping the sound would drown out my weeping.  After a few minutes, feet began to appear, one pair after another, under my locked door.  I began to hear voices.

"Are you okay in there?" a woman asked.  Another woman slid a cold paper towel under my door.  "Whatever is wrong, honey, I am going to pray for you.  It'll be okay." A teenager rolled an unopened can of soda to me.  I thanked her and drank it.  Two women offered to wait for me outside in the hall and pray with me.  Another young woman with two small children told me she was sorry for whatever was wrong.  Many people shared words of comfort.  One person even sang "Amazing Grace" to me!

My bathroom stall became a holy place where my sorrow was shared by strangers who comforted me, sight unseen, except for feet, of course.

I finished my crying.  The tears had cleansed my soul, and strangers had buoyed my spirit.  As I walked back to Hope's room, a woman asked how I was feeling.  When I asked how she knew me, she laughed and said, "I recognized your shoes!" Looking down, I recognized hers, too.  We hugged.

Returning to Hope's room, I looked at our situation with new faith and with the reassurance that I was not alone.  God had spoken to me through the kindness of strangers.

A bathroom stall may not have a lot of room, but it is plenty big enough for God to work wonders.

And there you have Malinda's article which I hope you enjoyed reading.  She must be partially sighted, I would guess.

A similar situation happened to me during the 2010 March for Life in Washington DC.  I guess I must have looked sad or something in the face, because somewhere along the line of march a lady saw it and asked what the trouble was.  When I told her about my mom in a nursing home, we together left the line of march and withdrew a little ways to the side of the street.  Then and there she prayed a very simple prayer that the Lord would reassure me that my mom would be all right.  I learned from her that her name was Millicent, and that she lived in Yankton SD.  She was raised on the Brul`e Sioux Reservation.  I can't remember everything Millicent said, but she did pray and reassured me that my mom's soul would be with Jesus within six months.  Sure enough, four months later it was.  We haven't contacted each other, so I wouldn't know where in Yankton she lives.  It was definitely a God-moment, and one shared with a very kind stranger.  This is, in my opinion, the biblical meaning of the word "hospitality" which, in Greek, is _philoxenia, meaning "love of strangers."

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Lord willing, tomorrow there will be another Daily Thought message for you.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul