Chaplain Brings Christ into a Crisis

christ-crisisMy wife and I were attending worship service in one of our area churches when my pager went off, again. It was the emergency room. They needed “the Chaplain.” We quietly slipped out and headed for the ER.

A young child had been involved in an accident. The doctors and nurses were doing everything possible, but they knew the outcome. The staff filled me in, telling me that the grandparents had brought him in; they were in the private waiting room. The parents were off somewhere for the weekend. Grandma and grandpa were watching the little one. I went in, introduced myself, and asked if they had a pastor or church. “No, we don’t,” an answer I hear all too often. In their hearts they knew the little one was gone—but they still clung to the hope that somehow there would be a miracle. I prayed with them for the child, and for the doctors to have wisdom and skill from above.

Then we waited.

We tried to contact other family members. We located a few, and they arrived at the ER. Then the doctor came in and broke the news, “I’m so sorry. There was nothing we could do.” The pain and hurt was so intense, “Why? Why him? Why not me?” There are no answers for those questions.

After a little while the grandparents decided they wanted to see the child. I went in with them. The room seemed strangely cold, the child was so still. Again the emotions erupted, loud weeping and uncontrollable grief. As I stood beside the gurney across from the grandfather, I prayed for wisdom. I thought of what King David said when his son died. I shared that with the grandfather—we can’t bring him back, but we can go to be with him. There, next to that small still body, this man prayed and gave his life to the Lord. Then through his tears, I heard him say, “I’ll see you over there.”

Shortly after this, the mother and stepfather arrived. We started the process all over again. Please pray for “the Chaplain” and the many people he deals with.

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