Romans 8:24-25 “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

When you leave the real world, walk into a clinic or hospital, you are no longer a citizen, but rather “a patient.” You are not just a someone, but a new person—with people watching after and over you. Hopefully, being a patient is a good experience for you.

I now understand why people in the hospital are called “patients.” You’ve got to have a lot of “it” in order to survive and thrive!

“Nr. Nipper—we’re going to put this tube there!” (My brain says , Do what?!?!”) “Mr. Nipper, time to get up (it’s 4 a.m.) and let us get your weight and other vitals.” “Mr. Nipper, would you like your pain meds now?” I rub my eyes in the darkened room from where I have been sleeping, finally, soundly, for an hour or so. We are called patients because the hope is that we can withstand hospital protocol with all understanding that one can muster

“Love is patient and kind,” Paul says in I Corinthians 13. There is no better place to practice patience while being one! You and I both know that nurses in this world get a lot of gratitude and satisfaction by their call to serve, but we know that they also catch a lot of grief. In that patience, be kind.

Whether you are in the hospital or out in the world as a citizen among the saints, be kind and considerate. Always. What God has done for us through Jesus Christ merits such constant, considerate love.

Give thanks this week for doctors and nurses—and everyone in between who work hard in hospitals and clinics. Bless them with patience. And bless their patients with the same. Being sick sometimes it’s hard to be nice. Yet, it is possible to always be kind and considerate. You’d want the same respect from them, wouldn’t you?

God loves you and so do I!

Pastor Jim