As usual God used my heart surgery to open me up to some important life lessons that I need to keep learning.

As usual God used my heart surgery to open me up to some important life lessons that I need to keep learning.
‘I will be right there...’
His name was Jesus and he was my nurse’s tech on Sunday night 3 days after my open heart surgery. Needless to say I was still hurting and needed help all night long. While I was in CVICU there was 1 nurse and 1 nurse’s tech all for me but now I was out on the regular floor where the nurse and the tech were responsible for not just one patient but now 6 patients.
No matter when and no matter what Jesus always said the same thing! I would press the button for help and he would reply almost immediately with, ‘I will be right there’. Now here is the funny thing he kept his word! He literally would be right there within a minute or two which you have to know is not always the case in a busy hospital. Every single time! I would press the button and hear his voice, ‘I will be right there...’ and he was right there! Add to this that he was right there for all 6 of the patients! I would hear him answer the call of others and he would be right there!
When he came in my room he was friendly and ready to serve no questions asked and I mean to tell you a couple of times what I needed him to do was not all that pleasant! Even so he would do it with a smile, do it well, and then ask me if there was anything else that he could do to help me out at that moment. He was not doing it by just going through the motions or just doing his job or duty. There was something else compelling him to be different, to serve in a manner that made you feel like not only the most important person at the moment but the only person at the moment. I had to ask what it was that made him different, what was it that put that smile on his face, that caused him to give you that confidence that he wasn’t going through the motions but he truly was there to serve with all of his strength and mind and heart.
So I did...
It was around 6:00am one hour until he was to get off and he was again in my room for maybe the 7th time that shift and I asked him, I looked at him and said hey what makes you do this with such joy? His answer did not surprise me at all in fact it inspired me. He said that he knows that God loves him so much that he now serves others in such a way that they will know that God loves them too!
Down right amazing...!
Can you imagine what would happen in the church, your family, your work place, your marriage, and this world if we served this way? This is a question we all need to ask ourselves. It starts right here with me and you!
In a time where we want to be entertained and catered too, a time when we are driven by a me first, don’t touch my stuff, you can’t get rid of me attitude. A time where we demand our rights at the expense of others and often in the name of self we damage relationships for along time. It was so challenging to meet this young man named Jesus who was making a choice to be and live different as he served God at his place of employment.
I was reminded of a very familiar passage of scripture that we will be studying together in Philippians 2:1-5...
‘Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy, complete my joy and be of the same mind, by having the same spirit, and having one purpose. Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had...
Living like Jesus the nurse’s tech is a choice we can make everyday! Did you catch what Paul said about his joy being incomplete? He said that by the way these followers of Jesus treated each other, would make his joy complete! That’s right the way you and I serve and value each other is not only thinking and living like Jesus but Paul said it would make his joy complete!
So what do you think?
Could we all wake up tomorrow morning and choose to think like Jesus? Could we wake up knowing that we would look for and act on all of the opportunities where we can seek the best interests of others. I know it would change your family, your marriage, your work place, and maybe just maybe it could be the beginning of a much needed revival to take place in the church. No more going to sit there and be entertained, no more just going through the motions, but serving knowing that God loves us so much that we want to serve others in a manner so that they discover that great truth of God’s love!
‘I will be right there...’
The question is will you be right there?
Always Giving Thanks Tony

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