A Circle Of Comfort

I have a head cold.
A box of tissues is my constant companion.
A hot cup of tea is my comfort.
My nose looks much like Rudolph’s.

I was thinking about the movie, You’ve Got Mail.
The scene where Joe Fox visits Kathleen Kelly when she has a cold.
Along with having a cold, she had to close her book shop, the one her mother began.
The shop needed to close because of Joe and his mega-book store.

People are always telling you that change is a good thing. But all they’re really saying is that something you didn’t want to happen at all… has happened. My store is closing this week. I own a store, did I ever tell you that? It’s a lovely store, and in a week it will be something really depressing, like a Baby Gap. Soon, it’ll just be a memory. In fact, someone, some foolish person, will probably think it’s a tribute to this city, the way it keeps changing on you, the way you can never count on it, or something. I know because that’s the sort of thing I’m always saying. But the truth is… I’m heartbroken. I feel as if a part of me has died, and my mother has died all over again, and no one can ever make it right.

The mega-book store came into town and bulldozed the competition.
In his own words, Joe said it best.
..we’re going to sell them cheap books and legal addictive stimulants. In the meantime, we’ll just put up a big sign: “Coming soon: a Fox Books superstore and the end of civilization as you know it.”

Joe visits Kathleen and he brings her daisies.
They both know that he is the reason for her store’s demise.
He is growing fond of her.
Kathleen intrigues him; she is a wholesome challenge.

I love daisies, Kathleen comments when Joe hands the bouquet to her.
You told me, Joe said revealing more than Kathleen realized.
They’re so friendly. Don’t you think daisies are the friendliest flower?
Daisies are my favorite flower as well, so that line has always been special to me.

It’s funny the things you remember when you have a cold.
I remember vaporizers and Vicks VapoRub.
I remember small packs of tissues in my pocket.
I remember being on the sofa, propped with pillows so it was easier to breathe.

No matter how old we are, we remember being taken care of when we were sick.
That tender touch on your brow.
That cold compress on your forehead when you have a fever.
That butterfly kiss on your cheek.

Those things that were done so lovingly for us, we repeat with our own children.
You hear yourself as you care for them and you hear your own mother’s voice.
When did that happen?
When did the circle continue without you even knowing it?

A little boy from our church broke his arm months ago.
He needed immediate surgery to place steel rods inside his arm to help him heal.
The other day he needed outpatient surgery to remove those rods.
He was anxious about the surgery and his mom asked many of us to pray for him.

One text message got the prayer chain going.
Updates through the morning told us that everything went well and he will be fine.
I visited him later that day when he got home.
The anesthesia was making him nauseous and groggy.

He looked so tiny sitting on the overstuffed sofa next to his mother.
He had the familiar bucket next to him, similar to the one I used with my own children.
The one that helps when a child feels sick and can’t get to the bathroom in time.
He held that bucket like a trusted friend.

He wanted to show me a LEGO creation he had made.
His mom went upstairs to get it and bring it down for him to explain it to me.
Mrs. Gallagher, I might get sick and I don’t think you want to see that.
His expression was so sincere, so priceless.

Oh sweetie, remember, I have five children and they all got sick when they were little.
We had a bucket just like this, I said pointing.
Don’t you worry.
He laid his head down and smiled.

His innocence touched my heart.
We are so vulnerable when we are sick.
We need someone to take care of us no matter how old we are.
We need a bouquet of friendly flowers and a butterfly kiss on the cheek.

Those of us who care for others are really being the hands and feet of Jesus.
We are to them, God’s love with skin on.
As fully God and fully man, that is what Jesus is: God’s love with skin on.
We are God’s representatives to heal the sick and comfort those who need to be comforted.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. (2 Corinthians 1:4)

When did it happen?
When did the circle continue without you even knowing it?
When God sent His son, Jesus, in the flesh.
Jesus who experienced everything we experience yet was without sin.

Jesus who understands.
The Holy Spirit whom the Father sends to be our Helper, our Comforter.
The Holy Spirit who is more than a cold compress or a butterfly kiss.
The Holy Spirit who lives with you and will be in you. (John 14:17)

What a privilege to be the hands and feet of Christ to those who are sick and in need.
An unbroken circle of care in Christ’s name.
Who can you visit?
Who needs a healing touch from your hand in His name?