The Red Suspenders

I had met him some two years before after the Lord sent me to a nursing home I visited on occasion. The man I normally visited with was no longer there, so I walked the halls looking for the person the Lord sent me there to see. When I saw the bright red suspenders from way down at the end of the very last hallway, I knew I had my man.

Although my friend struggles with stroke-like symptoms that slur his speech, people cannot help but see Christ in him. His rejoicing bubbles over onto everyone he encounters. On this particular Sunday, the Lord had prompted me the moment I woke up to go see him. After we visited, as I was leaving, I became burdened that I might not see him again. So many of my nursing home friends had passed from this life - into the arms of Jesus. I couldn’t bear the thought of him doing so and me not knowing. Being aware of the privacy laws, I approached a nurse hoping to convey my heart, tears welling in my eyes. I asked her if my name could be placed in his file, so I could be notified if something happened to him.

"He must be a very special person," she said. "He has so many people visit him, but today he waited all morning at the front door. At one point, I asked him who he was waiting for, and he remarked, 'a very special friend of mine. The Lord is sending her today.'"

In the instant that we both realized he had been talking about me, we both broke into tears. Several moments passed with us both in complete silence.

After a brief pause, she pulled me aside and asked if I would pray for her son who was experiencing some health issues and was away from the Lord. I gave her some reading material I had, and we prayed for him there in the hallway. She had raised him in church and we prayed believing, according to the Word, that her son would return to the Lord. I wondered if our time of prayer was the real reason the Lord sent me to my friend that day.

The nurse graciously put my name and phone number in his file.

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