be still

I read this verse to Joyce tonight. She was lying there in her hospital bed. I was standing beside her bed reading  aloud in the light of the bathroom with the door propped slightly open by a large garbage can. I read a few Psalms and we talked about certain verses that she liked. I felt a little bit like the catholic priest that I see walking the halls of Guardian Angels nursing home. I did not look the part but just felt a little odd standing beside a bed in the dark reading Scripture. It was good to read God's Word although it's not always comforting. Sometimes, in those dark times, you read about God's faithfulness but wonder why He is not showing up in the form of improvement or brightening up the darkness. It's hard to feel as if His presence is enough to bring comfort, although several verses I read spoke directly to that.

She lay there with her eyes closed, listening. I would stop between chapters and ask her what to read next. She offered ideas, some with stories about how her Mother read that to her during scary times. Poor dear looked pitiful swallowed up her her hospital gown, her hair pointing this way and that from being smushed against a pillow for the past 2 days. Her arm was marked from the blood pressure cuff that she wore in the ER when this whole mess began on Wednesday. Crystal, her soft, white stuffed kitty, was tucked in her arms, against her chest. She moaned about the pain in her stomach. It's been a long day for her and those taking care of her.

Finally, sleep came, and she breathed deeply, slowly, peacefully. I pray that my mom can do the same..

Be still.