Saturday morning I took the elevator to the second floor and headed for bed #5 in the ICU. My mom had a complete overhaul on her heart. Seeing the wires, tubes and monitors didn’t bother me. Seeing my mom in pain and vulnerable cut me to the core. I stared at the ceiling numerous times to help the welling tears subside. I prayed and asked for God’s strength because mine was shaky.

After leaving her room, I had a meltdown in the family lounge. I called my sister, begging her to come out because I couldn’t handle being there by myself. I ended the call, dropped my phone on the chair next to me and sobbed into my tissues.

A woman knelt in front of me and asked if she could give me a hug. I launched myself into her arms and cried as she spoke soothing tones into my hair. I needed someone to comfort me at that very moment.

God provided an angel in a pink breast cancer awareness t-shirt and navy track pants.

Once I pulled myself together, I thanked her profusely for the comfort she gave me. I learned she had been there a week as her husband spent the past six days in ICU. My heart ached as she shared her story. As my friends and sister arrived, she sat next to us and said, “You have all of them. I have no one.”

We swept her into our circle, offering prayers, hugs and chocolate.

My weekend in the ICU taught me valuable lessons in God’s Divine Providence, empathy for my hurting friends and we are never so strong that we can’t ask for someone to help us.

As we tear down those walls and expose our aching hearts, we are allowing others to bless us with words of encouragement and hugs of comfort. In turn, we are providing blessings for them.

Please pray for my friend Renee who so generously comforted me in my time of need on Saturday. She received devastating news this evening that will change her life forever as she makes a very tough decision. I had the opportunity to be a comfort to her. I told her I had my network praying for her and that God provides miracles. 

Please pray for my mama as she is in the toughest fight of her life. As of today, she’s having a hard time maintaining her oxygen levels without a breathing mask. When her oxygen levels drop, her heart rate and blood pressure rise. I prayed over her as I left for the evening and when I peeked in on her one last time, she was in a peaceful deep sleep and her oxygen was at 92 without her breathing mask!

Your turn: Have you been blessed by a stranger? Have you had the opportunity to bless someone you didn’t know? How did it change you?