My Brother, John

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. I Pet3:8 (NIV)

    John came into our life almost one  year ago. He, along with his wife Laurie, came to our first bible study at our new home. My first impression of John was that he was very tall and big. He must be close to 6 feet 10 inches. Needless to say, he made a huge impression on everyone.

        Although John is an educated man, who taught at a university in the mid-west, it was easy to notice that he had a problem speaking. Laurie, his wife told us that John had suffered a stroke and since then hasn’t been able to speak. Whenever he tried to talk or communicate, what came out of his mouth were muffled sounds and muttered words.

        John and Laurie have been very faithful to the study at our house. They always show up. 
During our prayer time, we would go around in a circle and pray as to how God leads. When it came time for John to pray we’d wait a while for him to say something, and normally after a few moments of silence, the person next to him would continue to pray.

      About 4 months ago during our prayer time, John prayed! Wow!! It was an intense and emotional time for all of us.  John was praying to God. Although all that we heard were muffled sounds and muttering and even though we didn’t understand what he was saying in his prayer, we knew that God did. It was a very moving and beautiful time.

    The bible says in 1st Peter 3:8 “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.” 
 
   I have grown to love and respect John as a brother in the Lord. We’ve never been able to sit and talk, but my spirit tells me that John loves the Lord and because of this he is part of my family, he is my brother.

        John has had a series of setbacks the past few months. He has been shuffled from the hospital to a convalescent home and then back to the hospital. This has been going on for the past 3 months. My wife and I went to visit him yesterday. His condition is worsening. The doctors are saying that his health is deteriorating rapidly.  Laurie thanks us for visiting, but she says that he probably doesn’t even know that we are there.

     We go to the hospital not only to visit with John, but also to support and spend time with Laurie. She is a very loving and devoted wife. Day in and day out she spends the better part of her day at the hospital.  We go to support her, because she is also a part of our family. When we saw her yesterday, she looked tired. We took her to the hospital cafeteria and spent about an hour with her drinking coffee, talking and laughing. I really felt that we were doing what Peter meant in 1 Peter 3:8. Our life is blessed. Have a great week!
 
Lord Bless You,
  -Ernie