Spending Time With Jesus

Spending time with Jesus was something I thought you did by yourself. It could be quiet time in reflective prayer. It could be reading a daily devotional. It could be in song. It might even be in a specific devotional, like Stations of the Cross. I never thought of finding Jesus in a conversation with another person.

On a monthly basis, I take communion to the hospital. One week a month, I share a week with another person. We take communion Monday through Saturday and offer it to whichever Catholics are currently hospitalized. This week, I had Thursday through Saturday. Thursday, there were no Catholics. Friday and Saturday, there was only one.

There are days where taking communion to the hospital can be very quick. I have had days where I have been in and out within a half an hour and have taken communion to three or four people. Occasionally, there are days where it takes a little longer, but most people aren't feeling well and aren't really in the mood to visit. They are comforted by the time in prayer, but they are not usually looking for a lot of extra conversation.

This weekend, I spent more than two hours at the hospital. I wasn't visiting with people I used to work with years ago. I didn't hang out in the cafeteria, people watching. I was spending time with one woman, in a CCU room. She is elderly, facing her own eventual passing, knowing it is closer than the beginning of her life.

Jesus sat with her in her recliner this weekend. Her absolute faith shone through in each of several conversations. Her life story hasn't been an easy one, but she speaks of walking with Jesus, and you can tell she has perfect belief her life has been spent walking with Him. It wasn't just talking, it was living.

She had said she felt she was a nobody, no one would remember her when she was gone. I will remember her, her and her walk with Jesus.