I dashed down to the cafeteria to
grab a bite during Jerry’s recent stay at the hospital.
Eating alone in a hospital
cafeteria is one of my all time least favorite things to do.
I would have loved to sit on the
patio but it was too cold that day, so I chose a table next to the
windows. I'm munching on one of my fries when I catch movement on the
patio in my peripheral vision. I turned and saw this―the last thing I thought I
might encounter at the hospital that day.
In all her feathery glory, she walked over to me. I laughed out loud. I stood to take pictures then looked around
to see who else might be watching. A hospital employee noticed my
amazement and said, “Oh, she’s often out there seeing what she can find”.
I guess the crumbs from a hospital hoagie are preferable to the chicken feed she had at home. Where home was, though, I had no idea in the middle of this in town setting.
Years ago, during one of many hospital stays, my mother received a terminal diagnosis. During that time,
I found myself in the cafeteria alone again, because Jerry was caring for our children
so I could be with my mother. In the middle of that crowded place, I felt like
the last person on earth in my grief. But after I took a seat and was just about to take a bite of my cold salad, I heard someone call my name.
I looked up to see my next-door
neighbor, Joyce, sitting near me. Joyce was something of a celebrity at
our house. She fed a dog biscuit every morning over the fence to our back yard labs,
Freckles and Sunshine, as well as our poodle Charlie, who had been my mother’s dog
before she could no longer care for him. Charlie could be upstairs but still know
when Joyce opened her back door and would race down the stairs like a wild dog to
get to her.
Well, when I saw Joyce, the tears
started to flow. She wasn’t there to visit. She didn’t even know about my
mother, but was meeting a few friends to eat. However, it felt as if God sent her
on my account that day. What a comfort to see her.
God knows what we need when we
need it. I guess like most folks, I tend to get a little uptight when someone I
love is undergoing medical procedures. I needed something to break the tension
when Jerry was in the hospital, so God sent a chicken to make me laugh.
I needed to cry after my mother’s
diagnosis, and God sent my dear neighbor Joyce, a loving familiar face to let
me know I was not alone.
I tell you, God has these divine
appointments down.
We often quote Philippians 4:19-20
regarding monetary supply, but these verses go so much further. In the Message,
it reads like this, “You can be sure that God will take care
of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that
pours from Jesus. Our God and Father abounds in glory that just pours out into
eternity. Yes.”
Oh, yes, He does
indeed take care of everything we need.
Sometimes, He
can even use a chicken to do it.