It's Not About Me
Chris Albe
Recently I have been spending a great deal of time at Abington hospital for radiation treatment, and certainly the hospital is a mine field of opportunities to prayer for others. No matter where one looks there are people who are in terribly stressful places in their lives needing the hand of Christ to stretch down and touch them.
I had the opportunity to pray for one young woman who was crying in the lobby. Her mother had just died down in a Philly Hospital from congestive heart failure. She was at Abington, because her mother's mother was hospitalized at Abington for the exact same disease her mother had. The young woman had been spending the days with her mom and her nights with her grandmother. Not only was a prayer needed but a hug allowing her to cry and be held.
There's also the secretary who has arthritis in her hands, and the nice young technician who has tattoos all over his arms, and some others.
This past Friday I went into the waiting area for my treatment, and there was another woman there waiting. I said hello, then asked her how many treatments she has had. She replied that she was there for mapping, (the procedure where they calculate where and how to send the radiation). Nothing more was said because the young tech with the tattoos came to get me to begin my treatment. I left, but then turned around and told her not to be afraid that it was going to be ok... then I went to the room.
After my treatment I saw the woman again as she was leaving. I called to her and she came over to me. I asked her if I could pray for her and she said sure. As I prayed, she cried, thanked me and told me that she so needed the prayer. This woman has breast cancer and has decided to only tell her husband, not her children, friends or her church.
I thought about what that would be like going through this on my own. Having ministered to those with cancer and now being on the other side of this fence myself, I truly can't imagine it. The support, prayers and love that I have received from my husband Rich and my brothers and sisters in Christ has been such a blessing to me. It has held me up when I felt overwhelmed and has demonstrated the love of Jesus to me.
God is so good, He allows us to give the love of Christ and receive it... Either way it is a wonderful thing. It is life changing, rewarding, and a blessing.
It's not about me just receiving; it's not about me giving; it's not about the cancer. It's about participating in the works of Christ Jesus and allowing Him to use us in every situation, no matter where we find ourselves, we can always be used by God.
