John 13:34-35 – A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (NIV)

One summer night, when my six-year-old granddaughter, Riley, and I came into the house after a wiener roast, as always, she wanted to play on my iPad®. After telling her where it was, I took a forbidden bite of leftover cherry delight while no one was watching. After all, I thought, I stuck to my diet all evening, and what would one bite hurt? As soon as that delicious morsel hit my mouth, I went into a coughing fit, or what was later diagnosed as "paradoxical vocal fold disorder". It is a long name for your vocal folds closing and allowing no air to come in. But not to worry, because after you fall to the floor as if dead, you will indeed start to breathe again. (Did you like the way that I shortened that up for you?) I coughed a few times, only causing my vocal folds to close even tighter, so that absolutely no air could pass. I talked to myself, Remember what you were told: just relax! Finally returning with the iPad, Riley was playing Angry Birds. She glanced my way but probably didn't think that the peculiar colour of blue that I had become by this time was unusual. If I had had the air to talk, I would have told her that she could be a hero on the 10 o'clock news for saving her grandma if she would put down the iPad and call 911!

I did think about going to heaven, and in my oxygen-deprived mind, that was looking better all the time.

I was finally able to get enough air out to say, "Get your Mom!" To that came a "Huh?" As sweet as she is and one of my most precious blessings, she just didn't understand. About that time, my daughter came in, and I sucked air for a few minutes and started to feel better.

As I sat at the computer to share my story, I thought about those who suffer in ways that they can't explain. In our busy world, how many have those scars hidden away? How many cannot speak because the very life is being choked out of them by oppression, depression, or desperation? How many of the rest of us fiddle while Rome burns or play Angry Birds while grandma dies? To be honest, many of us feel like we are in a vice grip ourselves, and circumstances are squeezing the very life out of us. Like Riley, we don't always understand every situation, but we can be there for others in their time of sifting. I pray today that the Lord will make my senses aware of those who are hurting. May I linger long enough to hear hurt in their voices. I want to see in their eyes trouble that may be tearing their family apart. I want to be available to help, and most definitely, to show them the One Who can show them the way.

Do you feel the same way?

Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to see those in need, and give us the courage and strength to help our brothers and sisters. Oh, and grandmas, too! Amen.

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About the author:

Jeanie Nihiser <jnihiserj@gmail.com>
Geneseo, New York, USA
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