God in the ICU

Often times as a pastor, I encounter people during some of their worst times. Pastors get called in when there is a death, or a tragedy, or an unexpected diagnosis, or just when a person has hit bottom. During these times, I listen to folks struggle to understand their journey. They are confused, hurt, shattered, and alone and they cry out from their souls to God. Regardless of the faith a person walks every day, in moments of calamity we all search for the presence of God. Questions abound: Where is God in this? Why is this happening? What did I do to deserve this? Why is God doing this to me? Impossible questions without definitive answers. As people sit in waiting rooms and living rooms and wrestle with these thoughts, I try to help them see the presence of God is small ways, places it is easy to overlook in the midst of chaos. It is in just such a place that a friend of mine recently encountered God and she wrote about it on Facebook. Her words touched my heart and moved me to tears, and so I share them with you, that perhaps when the next moment of crisis hits, you may take comfort in her observations. Thank you to Katie for these heartfelt observations.

"I saw God in the ICU this weekend. At first, it was difficult for me to spot him because I was so so caught up in the what if's that I couldn't see that God was at work all around me. I saw him in a group of about 30 family and friends who'd been camping out in the the waiting room for 8 days. Their area was filled with pillows and blankets and surrounded with coolers and baskets of food. I saw them rejoice and hug each other when one person left their loved one's room & told everyone how she had made eye contact with them. I saw them hold hands and hug and say that they loved one another. I watched a family come together and cry together as they held vigil while they waited for the woman who gave them life approach the end of her own life. I sat & held my best friends hand while her mother clung to life and asked why God was punishing her. I saw her mother make it through the night and wake up to write a love letter to her husband. I saw 2 sister's come together and vow to help each other through and mend their broken relationship. I saw a peace come over a broken and bruised woman in a hospital bed when her husband was wheeled into her room and took her hand. I saw God using each and every one of us to show the love and comfort he intends to show us every day. That's how God works. Through other people. When terrible things happen, it's hard to look past that one horrific event and see God surrounding us. It's hard to accept that sometimes blessings come through tear drops and healing comes through pain. I saw God in the ICU."