Read John 5:1-15

There…lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed…

—John 5:3

I was losing a lot of blood. I could hardly stand up much less walk. I knew I had to get help fast. From my Philadelphia hotel, I called the triage nurse in Birmingham. She said, “Get to an ER quickly.” Dizzy and shaking, I struggled to the hotel desk and asked the clerk to call a taxi. The driver asked, “Where do you want to go?”. I said, “The nearest ER.” I arrived outside Drexel ER, walked 15 steps inside, and couldn’t go any farther. Someone brought me a chair. People stared. I didn’t care. I felt like dying. I thought I was dying. I was dying.

I was attending a conference at the hotel on “Trauma Counseling.” The ER nurse took me into a room. The sign above it read, “Trauma Room.” Perfect, I thought. While I lay dying, they brought in another young man into that room. He had OD’d. They rushed me into the hall where “lay a great multitude of sick people,” all on beds lined up on both sides of the hall, waiting for someone to help them.

A funny thing happened while I was waiting, bleeding, in the ER hall. An extraordinary peace suffused me. I began praying for everyone I saw: That woman in the cubby hole, crying. I said something to her but I don’t remember what. I went from bed to bed (with my eyes—or was it Christ’s?) and prayed for each one: for comfort, peace, help, mercy, healing, salvation. The Great Physician knew what they needed.

After four pints of blood and three days later, I was able to walk out of the hospital. It’s not the first time I almost died. There were other times before—and afterward. Really.

The funny thing? It was the miracle of accepting whatever God had for me, then focusing on the other poor souls suffering and desperate.

Thought for the Day

What does Christ’s see as you look around?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, grant that I may see what You see as I witness so much suffering around me.

In Your Name, I pray. Amen.