The Check-up
The Check-up. By Tracey Mason.
To start off each new year I always schedule a wellness exam at my doctor’s office. The week prior to this appointment I stop in and have my blood drawn so all my lab work will be processed and ready for the upcoming appointment. I arrived on time and went through the regular check-in procedure, confirmed my insurance, and took a seat. I thumbed through a magazine and then reached into my purse to glance over my daily to-do list. I had a lot planned that needed tackled that day and was eager to get on my way. I knew this would be a quick visit because gratefully it had been an uneventful healthy year. Ten minutes turned to fifteen, then to twenty and when my watch showed I had sat there now forty-five minutes, I was beyond frustrated and approached the receptionist’s counter.
“Excuse me,” I said, interrupting the young lady mesmerized by her computer screen. “My appointment was over 45 minutes ago; did they forget me?” She assured me they had not and said she would have a nurse’s assistant place me in a room right away.
I decided not to sit back down to show my urgency to be taken care of. The door opened momentarily, and a cute, young lady called my name. I followed her to the exam room, answered the basic questions and then she validated my frustration and said that the Dr. would be in shortly.
After an hour and twenty minutes, with my to-do list ready to explode and my temper even more so- the doctor walked into my room. As I was ready to open my mouth and recite how my time was important too, and I had a busy day ahead, I looked up to make eye contact but immediately shut my mouth.
The Bible says that the eyes are the window to the soul, and his glazed eyes showed such heaviness I immediately forgot about my errands. I have known this Dr. for over twenty years and never seen him like this before. As he cleared his throat and tried to blink away the pool of tears that had formed in his eyes he said, “Good morning, I’m very sorry you had to wait so long…” he paused, then with a shaky voice said, “I had to tell a patient she had terminal cancer, and it took much longer than I expected.” Here I was trying to plan how to get my errands done, while the person in the next room was planning how to spend the short time left in her life.
Yes, I did have a check-up that day. God was the doctor, and he revealed that my heart needed a biopsy of selfishness. We all can get numb to the people around us, what others are dealing with and how they need our Savior. The world today is full of hurting people.
As we go about our day, do we realize some are battling cancer or addiction? Some are trying to put the pieces of their life back together after a divorce or grieving the death of a loved one. Do we take time to listen to a co-worker that is yearning to have a friend? When we rush through the grocery store do we even notice the elderly that may need help carrying things to their car? Have we ever noticed a single mom that can only afford to put in a few dollars at the gas pump, or a neighbor that may need help mowing their lawn after working two jobs? Every day is full of opportunities to show Christ’s love.
In Psalms 142 David uses words people around us feel every day. In verses 1 through 4 it says,
“He cried, he poured out his heart, his spirit was overwhelmed,” and then in verse 4 he ends with, “….no man cared for my soul.”
Oh, may that never be said of us. May our hearts be filled with a zeal to share Christ’s love and bring hope and healing to hurting people. In Jude 22 the Bible says,
“And of some have compassion making a difference.”
What a huge difference showing compassion to others can make in a person’s life. A hug, a smile, a listening ear, is so desperately needed in our broken world today.
As Easter week approaches, maybe we all need a check-up on our compassion. Hearts Being Healed Ministry just had their Chico conference where we surrounded others with love, compassion, answers from God’s word, and most of all showed people that someone cares. We as individual Jesus followers need to continue walking this out with the people God places in our path, every day of our lives. If you are a Jesus follower, ask Him today to increase your compassion and open your eyes to whomever he sends your way.
Maybe you are that someone in need of compassion. We invite you to look for our HBH Facebook page. We post a new blog every Sunday with words of encouragement and scriptures that can heal and sustain you.
Our next big event will be our Hearts Being Healed Conference in Nampa, Idaho, coming in September. Soon we’ll be posting the conference information and how to register on this website.
Please join us for this powerful event which will bring comfort and impact your heart and life. We hope you will join us as women just like you share their stories of how they came out of traumatic situations feeling broken, forgotten, and ashamed, but God restored their shattered lives and gave them hope and joy once again.
John 15:12 This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.
1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.