Isn’t it amazing how some people bring sunshine into our lives?

A friend who has been visiting out of town calls often. Just as soon as we say “hello,” she inquires about my son who recently had his third back surgery. Although she experiences health problems herself, she is always concerned about others. It is a comfort and a blessing to know that she prays for us daily. Her calls are like a ray of sunshine flooding into a room.

I often think of an elderly friend who suffered extensive injuries from an automobile accident. She was a most loved and active member of the church my husband served. He rushed to the hospital as soon as we heard about the accident. She suffered a neck fracture and injuries to her vertebrae. Immediately after greeting him, she expressed regret that she couldn’t attend Sunday School the following week. She had recently received a six-month perfect attendance pin. When the accident occurred, she had been on her way home from paying her condolences to the family of a relative. She was looking forward to attending a women’s meeting at church that day. There in her hospital bed, just a short time after the accident, she asked about the condition of several sick persons in our church family.

The next day, I accompanied my husband to the hospital, trailing a few steps behind him as we approached the intensive care unit. I wanted to let her know I loved her, but I dreaded seeing her in pain. Three friends stood close to the unit, so I stopped to chat with them while my husband went in. He stepped out in just a few minutes to motion me inside. She was strapped to the bed with her head held by a steel device. Tubes ran into her arms. “Hi, get over here” she said. A smile spread across her face and she grasped my hand. Her grip was strong. We talked for a few minutes. As my husband read a few passages of scripture and said a prayer, her fingers tightly clasped mine.

Upon hearing about her accident, I remembered the first time we met this dear person. She came bearing a gift of food to us the day we moved into the parsonage. She pushed aside her walking cane to give us both a big hug. In the weeks to come, I noticed she had a hug for everyone she met for the first time and always thereafter.

I attended a Monday morning Bible study group with her. She told us her husband brought her a cup of coffee to bed every morning. As she sipped it, she read the Bible. Then they had prayer to begin their day. She also shared with us some teachings of her mother, who had influenced her daughter’s faith.

Wherever this friend was, even in a hospital bed, she demonstrated her faith and brought sunshine to the lives of others.