This is #12 in a series of posts in which I share some of the things I have experienced because I am a Mormon. In each of these posts, I will give you a basic background and share a small experience. I hope that through the sharing of these small things you can have a glimpse into my experience as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I will also try to explain principles and doctrines of my faith that bring me so much happiness.
One of the young men in our ward was in the hospital. A seizure had brought him to the sudden reality of a brain tumor. Within hours, his life and his family’s lives had changed completely.
Many rushed to the hospital that first evening to visit. Someone told me that there were 36 visitors that first night.
I prayed to know what to do. I felt inspired to wait a day before visiting, gather notes from the mother’s friends, and pick up some personal care items from the store. A the checkout stand I saw a display of prepaid phone cards. It was an unexpected choice, but I felt inspired to buy one.
I sat with the mother at the hospital during her son’s first surgery. The hospital room was quiet. The crowd had left many gifts of food and well wishes the night before. As we sat and waited, I showed her the notes we had collected for her, along with the gifts. The notes meant a great deal to her; but she was restless and feeling like she needed to do more than sit around and wait for news.
The phone card turned out to be the thing she needed most at that moment. With it, she could make long distance calls from the hospital to Houston where they would seek further cancer treatment. (This was in the day before cell phones were in everyone’s pockets.) She expressed real gratitude for this card which would allow her to DO something, rather than just sit, feeling useless at the hospital.
The gift of the Holy Ghost is powerful. After baptism, we are given the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. The companionship of the Holy Ghost is so helpful in our decisions and our capacity to serve. Alone, I probably wouldn’t have waited to visit and I would have just come and given a hug; with the Spirit, I felt inspired not only to Wait, but to purchase something I didn’t set out to buy.