She sits at a welcome desk in the hallway of a dimly lit medical building. It is an older building, sort of a hodgepodge of confusing hallways linking together X-ray departments, oncology units, and physical therapy departments. Most people entering this building are there because they are injured or sick.
My first time to enter this building was two days post a total hip replacement and to say I felt out of sorts is an understatement. I shuffled my steps with the aid of a walker and my already bad sense of direction was heightened by the fog of pain medicine. I looked down the hall and the entry door to the physical therapy clinic felt like an impossible destination. Soon a very kind lady was at my side asking me and my husband if we needed assistance and encouraging me with the idea that it will only get better from here. She ended her encouragement with these words, “ I promise to be praying for you and I sure hope you start to feel better sugar.” When was the last time someone called you sugar?
Since that day I have been greeted over a dozen times with the same sweet smile and some form of encouragement. I have learned her name is Mary. Mary has big hair, big eyelashes, a stellar big white smile all on top of a very petite stature. I have witnessed first hand that her heart is the biggest of all. There isn’t a time I have walked into this building when she has not greeted me personally. At the same time, I have seen her assisting patients in wheelchairs, giving directions to lost patients and always with a big smile on her face. This past week as I came into the building I didn’t see her at first but then I looked over at a couch nestled in the entryway and there sitting with a couple was Mary. She was praying with them and they were all crying. I slipped past the door and into my physical therapy session not wanting to disturb this sacred moment.
On my way out, I stopped to tell her what an amazing lady she is. She was so humble in receiving my compliments and she told me her goal each day was to create an environment that helps people know they’re not alone – even in the most painful moments of their lives. Mary serves as an inspiration to me and I am sure so many others who have experienced her kindness and love.
My encounters with Mary have me asking myself how can I better show up in the lives of others to encourage and share the love of Jesus? How can you?