Lesson Learned in My Hospital Gown

I spent this last week at a large medical clinic in Minnesota. For this small town girl, it was a little overwhelming at times. With the help of my wonderful Heavenly Father, my sweet daughter and a wheel chair, I made it through the week.

I came away from this experience with many thoughts and some new perspectives. It comforts my heart to know that nothing just "happens". God knows and sees everything. He allows…what He allows. There are lessons to be learned every day and in every situation that God allows in our life. Even the disappointing and overwhelming moments have a purpose.

I am praying that somehow I can share these moments in my life with the ladies I know and love. Not to get attention for myself, but to turn that attention to God, for He is more than wonderful and worthy of all praise.

One particular appointment I had this week was rather unpleasant. After my name was called, I was brought into a room, given instructions, and sent to another room to wait. I was kind of embarrassed walking down the hall in my hospital gown to the next waiting room! When I opened the door to the waiting room, there were about ten other ladies sitting in the room waiting as well! Interesting enough…we all had the same gown on! We all had an IV in our arm and we all had the same look of dread in our eye! My heart couldn't help but go out to every one of them because I knew exactly how they were feeling.

Before our wait was over, we were all talking to each other like we were old friends. We expressed words of comfort as each lady left for her turn to be examined. It didn't matter which of us was rich or poor. It didn't matter who was pretty...fat...skinny...quiet...talkative...strange...talented or smart. We were all in the same boat. This moment made me think about my church family and how we many times don't see each other as being in the same boat. We create in our heart different boats for different people. A boat for those we think are weird and another for those we think are spiritual giants. Then there are boats for those we don't think quite fit in some way and so on it goes.

It's sad when we think this way because it's not godly, and it causes the boat to be unbalanced. Without exception-- someone will always get hurt. The Bible tells us how to keep that balance we so desperately need. Not only for us but for the lost around us.

Romans 12:3 “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

If I think too highly of myself, I will not reach out to those that I think are "lower" than me or I will reach out to them in a condescending way. If I think too lowly or self-deprecating, I will never reach out to those that I think are "higher" than me because I will be feeling inferior and thinking I am not worthy to talk to "them".

You just never know what may be going on in the heart of a person, or what they are really going through. The outside may look great and all put together, but God sees the heart. None of us are better than anyone else. It might seem like it to us at times when we have our act together and things are going well in our life and our health is good... our finances are good and our kids are acting decent. But in real life we're not so much of a much! If I think I am, I am deceiving my own self.

Galatians 6:3 “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.”

I'm not taking it easy on myself. I have been personally guilty of the very thing I am writing about. I don't want to live my life holding back love or friendship from people because I am thinking to highly or too little of myself. God remembers who we really are and He loves us anyway. Who are we to not do the same for each other?


Psalm 103:14 “For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.”

Please dear Lord, help me to have a heart like the man in this verse.

Luke 18:13 “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”

From my heart to yours,

Dianne