TWO BACK-TO-BACK SELECTIONS from a book about life and some of its precious moments. These two were written after a talk with a concierge at a care home I routinely visited in 2014. This single older woman spent time as a volunteer at a cancer wing of a hospital in the evenings after work . She recounted two stories to me that are dear to her. The second selection is one of them.

MINISTERING ANGEL

Her smile is beautiful.

There are people who go through life like ministering spirits. They go where God leads them and say what He gives them. They march to a different drummer known only to them.

These ministering people are like angels among us. Their lives are filled with divine appointments arranged by God. Their desire is to help others. Every day is an adventure for these lovely people.

I talked with one such ministering angel last night. She volunteers in a hospital ward where there is pain and suffering—where people are dying—where some come at the end of life’s road.

This dear woman starts her day by asking God to lead her to whoever needs comfort and to also guide her to say the right words. She doesn’t plan this out. She leaves that to the Master Designer.

Some evenings the people she is with are nearing death. She will say her name and that she is with them. She may touch the person’s arm as she talks about this and that. She prays in the silence.

Each divine appointment is precious with people like her, who are responsive to the prompting of God’s Holy Spirit. Their lives are marked by unusual encounters and astounding occurrences.

Last night’s chance meeting with this woman of faith made me realize something I had not thought of before. She lives more in the “eternal” realm than in the present earthly day. God is real to her.

We need ministering angels like her.

DIVINE APPOINTMENT

The dying woman arrived that day.

The woman seemed comatose. Her eyes were staring forward. The bed sheets were smooth, like she wasn’t lying there and had not tossed or turned. No movement of life. The woman looked dead.

The volunteer, the ministering angel afore mentioned, entered the hospital room. She sat by the bed. There was no response, no indication of an awareness of the volunteer’s presence.

The volunteer’s fingers lightly touched the woman’s arm. “Hi, my name is Suzie*, I am going to be here with you for a few minutes.” There was no indication that the woman heard her.

Suzie removed her hand. She sat there awhile making small talk and then touched the woman’s arm again. “I’m going to be leaving. I am praying for you. I will be back later.”

The volunteer completed the rounds, then she returned once more to sit by the woman. Nothing had changed. The woman had not stirred. There was no indication of any awareness, her eyes shut.

Suzie touched the woman’s arm, “It’s Suzie, I’m back again. I’m going to sit with you for awhile. I want you to know I am praying for you.” Suzie spoke a few words of comfort and prayed.

Suddenly the woman sat up, raised both her arms, opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling in front of her. With arms raised high, the woman uttered one word, “J-e-s-u-s.”

Then she lay back down, her body completely still, her eyes closed, her breathing the only indication that she was still living. Slight shivers trembled over the Suzie, this was different.

The next evening Suzie returned to the hospital, anxious to see the woman. But the woman was not there. She had passed away the night before, soon after Suzie left the hospital.

And that gives me a shiver.

*name changed

Want to be a Beta Reader for this book? Country Wisdom for Heart and Soul? Leave me a note, and I’ll be sure to contact you. Beta Readers give feedback to authors on unpublished books.  Thanks, Norma

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