I spend pretty much every Tuesday in hospitals and assisted living facilities as we visit our sick and shutins. We do this often enough that it can start to fee routine. I had a big reminder this week that these visits are anything but routine. This Thanksgiving marked the first in my life that my grandmother wasn’t present. She has been off and on in the hospital for months and it appears she is nearing the end of her life here on earth. Realistically she probably just has days left to live. I got to visit with her several times over the last week and it really put things into perspective. Walking into a hospital, finding her room and walking toward her door felt so, so familiar…but it was so, so different. This lady was my grandmother. This wasn’t just anyone. She is extra special to me. Then I remembered…everyone is someone’s grandmother or grandfather, son or daughter, friend or relative. Every single person we come into contact had at some point in their lives people who loved them and knew how special they are. This is true of everyone including the guy who cut you off in traffic to the guy at work you just can’t seem to get along with.
Everyone is special to someone. When someone upsets you, pray for them as you would if they were your grandmother in the hospital or your child who had done something they shouldn’t. There is no such thing as an ordinary person.
