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Most of us have been hospitalized at one time and if you haven't, chances are you know someone who has. A simple fact of being hospitalized is that you get very little rest. It seems hospital staff are constantly coming in and out of your room to help you and to do their specific job.
A few weeks ago my dad spent some time in the hospital and we experienced again the hustle and bustle of people caring for him. One morning, the door opened and a lady stuck her head inside. You could feel her energy. There was a lab person working on my dad so she said "Hello, I'll be back as soon as she is done." I thought to myself, "Wow, I haven't seen her before. It must be another nurse coming on duty." I knew my dad was going to like her because you could tell she was full of personality and spunk.
After labs my dad was told he needed to walk. So we headed out and walked around the unit. When we came around the corner and close to my dad's room, I looked in and saw the spunky energetic in-charge person stripping my dad’s bedding and cleaning up his room. I was confused. Why was a nurse cleaning up my dad's room?
We did one more walk around and then came back to my dad's room.
When we walked in we heard, "Let's get you cleaned up and refreshed." He had spent 16 hours in ER and was in a holding unit for days. She went on to tell him all the goodies she has set out for him. She also looked at all the stuff that had been stuck to his chest and said, "Let's get this stuff off you. You're not even connected to anything. She stuck her head out the door and said to someone at the nurses station, "I'm taking these off. He doesn't need them anymore and if he does they can put on new ones. Let's let the man get cleaned up."
I couldn't wait another minute to find out who this powerhouse of hospitality was so I asked. She said, "I'm Doris and I'm here to care for your dad." She said, "I got up this morning like I always do (her arms raised) and said, Lord, who are you bringing to me today that I can love and serve for You?" And she looked both of us in the eyes and said, "and here we are."
She asked my dad, "Tell me what's going on." My dad proceeded to tell her why he was there and she leaned in and listened intently. A few times I interjected something and each time she would look at me with gentleness, put her hand out to stop me and would turn back to my dad to listen. When my dad was done telling his story, she said with confidence, "I can sense that you are going to be just fine." I don't remember if she said, "Let's pray," or if she just began...it didn't matter because she proceeded to pray with confidence, passion and full belief. She didn't need to think about what she was going to pray, it just flowed out of her. It was a balm for our weariness.
She spent more time with us than I'm sure she was supposed to. As she left she gave us elbow bumps and said she's still praying.
When the door closed, my dad looked at me and said, "I think we've just been visited by an angel." I agreed. We had been visited by Angel Doris - who's "job" as it turns out at this hospital was housekeeping but she recognized her "call" was from God. She knew she was called to love and care for people she encountered while doing her job at the hospital.
Thank you angel Doris for being a loving example for all of us.
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