The Journey Began With A Smile

Oh, the power of a smile! I will always be in awe of the way I met Pat. I looked across the hall in the hospital and saw her looking at me - a complete stranger - and smiling at me! What??? Someone looking across the hall, smiling at me as if I were her best friend? Little did I know that smile would be the start of a journey where we would develop a deep relationship, where I would learn more about her, and about God. I stopped by her room and told her I loved her smile. The doctor was with her, so I couldn’t visit, but left with her on my mind. I was so intrigued when I walked home, I knew I had to know more about her and went back that afternoon to meet her.

From the moment I saw Pat I knew there was something different and special about her. After meeting her, I realized what made her so special. Her faith and love for God were awe inspiring, to the point she smiled in the midst of her storms. Considering the magnitude of her storms, this was truly amazing! Something had attacked her body and she was in a sense, paralyzed. Other than being able to squeeze my hand, there was little more that she could do with her body. To make matters worse, she had a trachea, was on a ventilator and her only communication came by reading her lips.

In the middle of all Pat was going through, she was quick to offer me hope and encouragement when I was going through a couple of hard times. One day I shared a concern with her. Without hesitation she said, “You have to promise me you won’t worry about this. God has something better in store for you. Promise me you’ll trust God with this.” Knowing my battles with worry, I couldn’t give her that promise. Pat wouldn’t take “no” for an answer and insisted that I make the promise. It was hard for me to do, but I made the commitment to her. That simple act changed the way I looked at the situation, and helped me keep worry at bay.

I can’t begin to understand the ways of God, and the way He answers our prayers. Pat trusted Him for a healing. Friends anointed her with oil and prayed over her. Many prayers went up on her behalf. I prayed for her, prayed with her and read Bible verses to her. Almost daily I saw a decline in her health. As I watched her slowly fade away, I thought more and more about God. I sensed He put Pat in my life to teach me more about trusting Him. Instead of trusting Him to do what I wanted, I needed to be trusting in Him to do His perfect will for her life!

Yesterday Pat received complete healing, and Heaven got a little sweeter, as she went home to be with our Heavenly Father. No more pain and suffering for her! She’s rejoicing and praising God with all the angels. In one of our many conversations, I told Pat when she got to Heaven she would be running and singing all over the place. The angels would be chasing after her, telling her to slow down, she has all of eternity to praise God. After being confined to a hospital bed for months, and only able to communicate by someone reading her lips, I can only imagine the rejoicing she’s doing!

I told a friend I wish I could have had one more hour with Pat. She asked if there were a lot of things I wished I had said to her. And there isn’t! I can’t think of one thing I would say, that I hadn’t already said! I would just love to tell her again how much I love her, how much of a difference she made in my life, and see her smile one more time. I’m so thankful that God chose to put this beautiful person in my life. The brief time I knew her, has forever changed my life.


To read more about Pat, check out the tags on my blog, "Pat."