Food for the Wilderness
May 18, 2020
Story of Faith by Shirley Dyer Wuchter
I am a retired chaplain now, but recently [prior to COVID-19], I was asked to visit a man in The Benedictine Health Center whom I had known when I was an active chaplain. I think someone sensed his days were numbered. He had tubes in his nose, was unable to eat, and barely able to talk, but I recalled past memories with him as he reacted with nods and facial expressions. I went home on Day 1 praying to God to guide me in ministering to this man. Day 2 I returned using Healing Touch. Day 3 I continued to pray for guidance, thinking I should bring communion. Day 4 I sensed I wanted/needed another person coming with me but who? Day 5 I thought of Sister Sue but couldn’t think of her last name. I felt a strong urge to find her. In asking at the front desk, I was told Sr. Sue DeWitt, who was the nun I knew, was coming within 5 minutes to get a flu shot at that very desk. After getting her flu shot, we consulted and took communion to the patient. “We are one in the spirit,” I told the man. Sister Sue started singing the song, “We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord;” I joined in. The man responded with a guttural sound as though trying to sing. Feeling my prayer had been answered, I had one more request: “God, may his family come to be with him before he dies.” Day 6 I walked into the room and his sister was there. She and her husband stayed for Day 7. I returned on Day 8, comforting his sister as she could see he was fading from this life. I prayed with her and with him, then left. Two hours later, Sister Sue phoned me that he had passed on to eternal life. I felt God’s guidance ever so strongly through the unknowns of the week. Thanks be to God.
God who holds time and space, may we hear your whispers and feel your nudgings as we make our way through our days discovering that you are present in every moment calling us towards compassionate life. Amen.