An Unexpected Request

I haven’t been in here since forever. It’s been awhile since I’ve started a thread. But I hope that this thread grows into something that provides joy, encouragement and blessing to those who read it. And most of all, to give honor and glory to our LORD, who enables us to do good works, which HE prepared for us to do in advance.

”For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.“
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬ ‭KJV‬

I’m currently working as a doctor at the Internal Medicine Department of a city government hospital. I was posted at the medicine ward on my last shift. I did my rounds on that day, and had a unexpected request from one of my patients.

She was admitted just a few days ago, because she developed a swelling on her left mid back area. She had been put on IV antibiotics, and had been responding well, as she was feeling fine and had no fever nor physical pain from the swelling on her back.

I noticed that she didn’t have anybody by her bedside, so I asked if she had any relatives watching over or visiting her from time to time. Upon asking this, she suddenly bursted into tears. She poured out all her sadness and fear and frustration of being admitted at the hospital all by herself. She told me that her children are far away, and that the child who lived closest to her (her eldest) is someone she couldn’t rely on for anything….not even emotional support during her time of illness. She said she’s a single parent who desperately needs to get back to work as soon as possible.

I listened to her intently. I told her that she should focus on getting better for now, and that she shouldn’t worry about having to get back to work while she’s recovering. I also did my best to encourage her, telling her to put her trust in GOD, who sees her current situation. I told her that GOD is not a mere spectator, but our GOD who actually cares about her condition, and is able to help her and comfort and heal her as she puts her trust in HIM. I also told her that we at the hospital will be looking after her and will be providing everything that she’ll need during her stay.

She kept crying, as if embarrassed about her situation. She said she didn’t want to be admitted at the hospital all by herself, but that she had no choice but to toughen up and accept her current plight, and follow the doctor’s advice to have herself admitted for treatment. I continued to reassure her that we understand her situation, and that she has nothing to be ashamed of.

To my surprise, she said this to me: “Doctor, is it okay if I ask you for a hug?”

It didn’t take me a few seconds to say, “Yes, it’s definitely okay.” And I hugged in as full of an embrace as our positions allowed, with her sitting on the side of her bed and me standing right in front of her. It was a tight hug, and felt her surrender in that embrace. And I did my best to comfort her as I held her there.

Then I asked her if she it’s okay for me to pray for her. And she said yes.

And so I prayed for her as I stood there, embracing and comforting her.

I felt my own tears fall, coz I know all too well what it feels like to be all alone….with no one to turn to and no one to listen. I’ve experienced many times how it is to be sick, and have no one else to take care of me. All I had was our LORD, with HIS love and care and dear presence, watching over me, attending to my prayers and providing me strength, medicine, wakefulness and healing.

I prayed that our LORD would make her realise during this time of illness that HE is there for her, waiting for her to put all her trust upon HIM, who pours out HIS grace and love and mercy for us. I prayed that her relationship with her children would be mended by HIS grace and leading, and that HE would provide for all her needs.

I finished the prayer and she let go from that embrace. She thanked me for listening and for being there for her. I know that she still needs to hear the Gospel, wishing I could share it to her then and there. But I hope that a light as been shed before her from our GOD who led me in that prayer through HIS Holy Spirit. May she come to know HIS salvation, and find true joy, peace and love beyond measure in HIM 🙏🏼💖💫

As I finished my rounds in that ward room, she called out to me to say “thank you” once more, and I smiled and wished her well.

I am thankful for the opportunity to touch someone’s life that day, beyond the scope of my profession. I’ve always wanted to have the opportunity to encourage others, and to help lift their burdens and make them laugh and smile, and to pray for them, pointing them to the direction or our LORD and Saviour. It is only through Jesus Christ our LORD that we will find true joy, peace, love and healing in this dark and dying world of sin and despair. May our LORD grant me more unexpected requests like these, and more opportunities to shine HIS light and love before the sick and brokenhearted 🙏🏼💖💫

Please feel free to share your own experiences like these on this here thread. I hope and pray that I could post more wonderful blessings like this in my life from our LORD here 🙏🏼💖💫

Thank you for taking the time to read my post ☺️🙏🏼💖💫 GOD bless you all always, my brothers and sisters in Christ!!!

God bless sir.
You are a doctor and you talked to her about God.
God bless you. Really.
I work with doctors so I know what it’s like.
God bless you for sharing your kindness and your faith with a patient.
In those moments all a patient needs is a kind word and you’ve given her more than that.
God bless you!

I was just looking at your profile and sorry for calling you “sir” since you’re female but I also noticed that you‘re in Philippines which explains why you as a doctor are able to talk to your patients freely about your faith.
I know what that’s like because doctors in the Mediterranean region do the same thing too. Some of them not all of them.

But in USA is very very different. Doctors are almost like emotionless machines and they are afraid of losing their jobs if they share any spiritual messages with their patients.
USA is a legalistic society so everyone is afraid of lawsuits so the side effects of this mindset are seen in day to day interactions with people.
Anyway, God bless you and keep you safe.

I like this thread....
When we get old...and often sick...our relationships tend to dry up and thin out. Our working life ends and all those relationships with it. That's when the real relationships kick in....and we have so few to rely upon.
Who do you have over to share meals with?
Who can you call and are genuinely interested to hear about their day?

A lot of guys only live a year or two after retirement because they retire from their whole identity. They were their careers instead of whole people. Funny how they looked forward to retirement and were adamant about it....going fishing regularly and gardening....but then....they realize it was only good when they could share those times.

Our relationships are of primary importance....even for the introverts.

Love thy neighbor in the same way as you love yourself.

And if we as Christians would do a bit more of that....focusing on our neighbors instead of ourselves this world wouldn't be in such a mess. This goes beyond joining a protest march against our government because we are angry. This is showing genuine concern for someone close to home. Someone you know. Everyone needs others....even the hermit.

Thank you for your kind words and well wishes! I hope and pray that our LORD blesses you where you are as well 🙏🏼💖💫

It’s okay XD I’m not worried about being misgendered. I joke about it, but I’m well aware how that is an issue in certain places in the world. We are living in a pretty insane place and time, that’s for sure.

In my profession, it isn’t normally accepted to be talking about our faith in our LORD Jesus Christ while working and talking to our patients. But I took the chance to do so, being strongly led by our LORD at that encounter with that patient. Our country is predominantly Christian (more accurately, predominantly Catholic), so it’s an advantage. However, we can’t be caught actively sharing about our faith, for fear of being sanctioned for indoctrination, should our patients and their relatives decide to voice complaints to the hospital administration. I would have loved to share the Gospel to them, if there were no rules to abide to.

Being a doctor, sadly, we can become stone-cold and emotionless as we do what we do….seeing a lot of death, and being clinical-minded can do that to you, along with all the stress. Becoming like that is a form of coping with this job. But I do my best to fight it, praying that our LORD will not let me become cold and callous to people’s death and suffering, even if it would mean an additional level of stress for me. I’d rather have a heart that feels their pain than not.

I hope that our LORD will grant us more opportunities to share about HIS love and HIS living Word where we are 🙏🏼💖💫 to get to talk about HIS love and grace and HIS gift of salvation is such a blessing, to those who would be able to hear listen, and even to us who speak about it. In HIM, we find great joy and peace and awe and love for HIM and in HIM as we do so 🙏🏼💖💫

Your post caught me off guard. Mainly because this hits close to home. Thank you for sharing this here, my brother in Christ 🙏🏼💖💫

I’m an introvert, who thankfully is still able to forge friendships and not be terribly socially awkward about it. For me, it’s easy to be able to relate to others and understand them. However, at the end of the day, I only have a few people whom I could call my true friends….who stick closer than actual siblings. People before whom I could be my true self, and enjoy listening to and relating with.

I’m at a point in my life right now where I feel like our LORD is isolating me, somehow. I feel like I’ve lost my very dear friends….and it’s honestly very painful and sad. I still have people I could talk with….brethren who care and try to encourage and cheer me up….but it’s not the same. I can’t help but feel the loss….

You’re right to ask the question: who can you call and are genuinely interested to hear about their day?

Our LORD knows those who I’m praying for….and will keep praying for, always. They’re in my heart and mind daily, and I’ll always pray for healing and reconciliation with them, because I cherish them so.

I know that our LORD has a purpose for all this….even if it’s painful and difficult to go through. I know that HE is using this time to draw me closer to HIM in prayer and fellowship with HIM and with others, too. But I pray that our LORD would restore what is lost and what has grown cold and distant as well. Because all my very dear friends and loved ones aren’t replaceable to me, ever. They’re one of a kind, and such precious and dear gifts straight from our LORD’s heart to me 🙏🏼💖💫 and I would never want to lose any of them. I would never be okay with that. So I’ll keep praying for them, and wait for our LORD to restore them in my life 🙏🏼💖💫

May our LORD heal all our broken bonds, and add new ones to enrich our lives further as we walk with HIM, and may HE continue to grow as our greatest love and companion above all 🙏🏼💖💫 for even though we may feel sad and lonely where we are right now, HE is ever faithful and HE never leaves our side 🙏🏼💖💫 HE loves us with a love that as pure, amazing, deep and everlasting. Let us find our true joy, peace, comfort and love in HIS presence, and entrust to HIM all that we need and pray for within our hearts. HE will surely satisfy us, and answer our prayers as we seek HIM and trust in HIM for everything 🙏🏼💖💫

one of our close friends is a physician, and a brother in Christ. i worked for him for many years. i think you have to be able to be clinical. you can't treat a patient, think clearly in an emergency, when you're driven by emotion. isn't this is why docs don't care for family members? our friend's wife and children have their own doctors for the big stuff. one of our friend's kiddos recently delivered her 6th child, and became septic afterward. her dad sent a quick, panicky email in the middle of the night asking us to pray for her. i'm glad he wasn't in charge of her care-- he couldn't do that thing you physicians do, stepping outside the emotion.
(the Lord heard the prayers of His people, and after 7 days in ICU she improved. she's home with all her little ones now, thanks be to God!)

i think you can remain clinical in practice without becoming cold and callous. our friend, and his son the doctor, are both very compassionate. you show you do it in this beautiful story of the lady in hospital. thank you so much for sharing it with us. ♥

yes, sadly, this happens, too.

not to schoolmarm you, especially since you're not a native English speaker (though your English is fantastic!), but i think the word you want there is litigious.

and you're right; it's yucky.

You’re right. It’s essential for us to be able to do our job as doctors by being clinical-minded. Emotions are put on hold, so we could focus on finding the solutions to the medical problem that is in front of us. In cases of emergency, it is vital that we not get rattled and be calm and clear-minded and focused on the task at hand.

When I said that becoming clinical-minded factors in becoming stone-cold, what I mean is that we as doctors can start to look at our patients as mere “cases” to solve. In a way, they can stop being people in our minds, and become a list of medical issues to address and resolve. So prayer is always needed, to try to always remember that our patients are people who are hurting and suffering, and in need of care and treatment and support.

Ideally, doctors shouldn’t be treating their own relatives, specially in cases of emergencies, and should be turned over to another physician’s care. However, that’s not always the case. Sometimes we are all that our loved ones can count on to help them medically. During those times, I have to be very clinical, and not worry or question my medical knowledge and skill. I can’t worry about failing or hurting them. I have to do my part to help them, and pray hard as I do so. I can’t do anything right apart from our LORD’s grace and guidance 🙏🏼💖💫

As doctors, we are sworn to help save lives and to sustain them. We all need the courage and wisdom and grace under pressure to face emergency cases, more so when handling our loved ones. Being clinical-minded is like a double-edged sword. It enables us to do our job well as doctors, but it can also turn us into unfeeling, insensitive people of we’re not careful.

I’m glad to hear that your friend’s wife has recovered from her life-threatening condition! 🙏🏼💖💫 our LORD is so gracious and so good to provide her healing and recovery! Sepsis is not a thing to take lightly in our profession. Many patients die from it. *sigh* I truly long for the day when sickness and death no longer exists, and doctors and nurses wouldn’t be needed in this world anymore 🥹🙏🏼💖💫

Thank you for your kind words, and for appreciating my post here! ☺️🙏🏼💖💫 it’s all thanks to our LORD! It is HIS love and compassion that has led me that day. HE has taught me so much throughout the seasons of sadness and pain in my life, and has created in me that desire to show HIS love and compassion to others, feeling so strongly for them in their own pain and sadness. I pray that our LORD will continue to meet us and be with us, to comfort and strengthen and heal us through our times of pain and suffering 🙏🏼💖💫 may we grow in HIM in faith, more and more each day, as we rely upon HIM and entrust all our lives in HIS loving hands 🙏🏼💖💫

I got encouraged from my doctor in 2014. Privately, I told him about me being abused and harassed from past jobs and schools. I was in special education. The kids labeled special education as where the retards go. I was hurt by it. Some students acted superior to those in special education. I think they have low self esteem and one reason Why they tear people down. Bullying followed me all the way to my graduation. When low lifes tell you your to stupid to succeed in life. That should be red flag that Satan is behind it. Reprobates have unclesn Spirit, 2 Corinthians chapter 4. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. In whom god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is image of God, should shine unto them.
4:8. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed, we are perplexed, but not despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed.
Romans chapter 1
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to reprobate mind.
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covertness, malice, envy, murder, debate, deceit, whisperers. Back biters, haters of God, despiteful, pride, boasters, inventers of evil things, disobedience to parent's.

Reprobates/wicked have a twisted and depraved mind. They have the mentality of Satan. They won't repent and won't give up there habitual life styles of sin. John chapter 3, wicked won't come to the light, less there deeds be reproved.

Psalm chapter 34
The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to thier cry.
Evil shall slay the wicked, and they that hate the righteous shall be deslote. I believe the wicked have spot in sheol called hell. Holding place for the wicked until judgment Day.
Psalm chapter 35
For without cause they have hid from me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul. Satan uses wicked people to carry out spiritual oppression. Satan trys to penetrate minds of Christian people. He wants to make them prisoner. Enemies Tactics are, fear, intimidate, slander, bullying, persistent, lies and heresy spread by false brethren.
35:8
Let destruction come upon him at unawares, and let his net that he had hid catch himself, into that very destruction let him fall. Vengeance belomgs to Jesus, Romans chapter 12.

34:19
Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me. Neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without cause. 34:20. For they speak not peace but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quite in the land.

Wicked can't help themselves. They plot evil against the righteous. There demolition site. To tear down, and destroy.
The wicked destroy themselves. You can't serve two masters at same time. Its either Jesus or Satan.

Same nonsense following me into workforce. Bullying, and put downs. I converted to Christianity in 1999. Satan did try to destroy me in 1997. I was dating young woman. And I experienced very bad friendship with her. She lied often and put me through emotional abuse. I cut her off. In 2004, she left message on answering machine, five minutes long, vulgar and pure hate. Her voice changed to masculine voice. She admitted she is possessed by the devil and evil. Its evident Satan will use neighbors, friends or unknown source to get to you.

Another Job. It was verball abuse, and psychological abuse from staff. Same words used back in schools. You dig deeper and see unclesn Spirit at work. Satan is after those who have Holy Spirit or spiritual growth. Satan has lot of people on wrong path. They're not threat to him. Satan uses wicked people to carry out spiritual oppression.

Satan is not going to abort his mission, just because person converted to Christianity, and repent. He will increase the attacks. When board meeting comes around. Satan, and his group. Who's names come up. Are they non threat or serious threat.

Peace.