BETTY

The story of Betty is, perhaps, the most stirring one for me out of all the rest--at least, it one of the most amazing! The way it started was, in itself, amazing.

One of the nurses stopped me in the hall as I was going from room to room and informed me that Betty was not doing well and that she, in fact, did not have long to live. This nurse was of the B'Hai religion. As an employee there, she had heard the singing and the spoken word from the Bible. The administration and staff often hunted me down to ask me to work with folk who were depressed and would not leave their room or would not eat. This, though, was unusual--this nurse asked me to go minister to Betty spiritually.

She told me that Betty was thrashing in her bed, that she was unable to hear and that she could not talk. My immediate thought was, "What can I do for her?"

I will tell you this amazing story, but first, I need to go back a couple of years. When I first met Betty, she was suffering the after effects of a stroke. She could only say one word: Waiting. If I asked for her name, she said, "Waiting, waiting." An answer that required a sentence was a long series of the same word with voice inflections she would have used had she been speaking the right words. She came to the meetings, but I never knew if she understood a single word. 

Down the road, she had another stroke that left her completely incapacitated. After that, I did not see her very often. Now I was commissioned by an unbelieving nurse to go to Betty's room and do something to help her in her last days. I believe that this nurse felt deep compassion for Betty.

I went to her room twice. The first time, I found that what the nurse had told me about Betty's condition was true, only believe me, it was much worse. Betty was skin and bones--literally. She thrashed in her bed with the sides pulled up, sides that were heavily padded to protect her. I prayed, "Lord, what in the world am I doing here?" I gently touched her and prayed for her...I could at least do that. Then I left. I really was struggling about ever going back. Here was
a woman who could not see or hear...how could I get to her?

The next week, I went again. I went knowing that if there was to be some kind of victory, it would be God's doing, not mine. When I entered the room, there was a nurse standing in the corner by the bathroom. Her presence unnerved me; it was the first time for that! I never experienced discomfort regardless of who was in the room. This time, I sensed a huge spiritual battle raging within me.