My Hero

I've always been proud of my children, but I've never been able to say, "there goes my son the (football, basketball, soccer, academic) star." Today, the youngest made me so very proud to be his mother. There is a man in our church that is dying. He is in the hospital in one of the critical care units. I went to visit this morning and he asked to see my 16 year old son. They worked together at one time in the food pantry. Now granted, I work in the hospital but these children absolutely hate hospitals. It was tough when their grandparents were in to get them to go (and yes, I understand).

I was worried when I had to ask the child this morning to go, I figured he would argue or fuss, but all he said was okay. When we went, he spoke to the patient, shook hands with the son and behaved himself as an adult (maybe better). I wondered, did he really understand how bad the patient was, he's on a morphine pump, 50% venimask, 2 chest tubes, and air hungry, his hands were already purple coloured. Yet my son was very appropriate. Then we left. Then he cried. And cried. And I cried. And am still crying. I told him what a man he was for doing this, and I would have never asked him to do it had the man not asked for him by name. He wasn't asking for anyone else that I'm aware of, just this one.

We talked about smoking and the horrible effects it has on the body, the mans lungs are holes that can't hold the oxygen he breathes. We talked about mercy, and to pray that God would take him quickly, that we would probably put him into a medically induced coma to relieve his suffering. I wanted him to understand we don't condemn those that this happens to, we pray for mercy.

But most of all, I pray for my son's tender heart, that it would always be tender. His love for this man overcame his aversion to the surroundings. And I know our Father is watching this and is even more aware of what it took for the child to do this, and I know who put the love in his heart. "But as you do it to the least of these......"