In recent months, I had been in and out of Abbotsford hospital visiting my good friend Buck who was battling cancer for the third time.
He beat it twice, but it was back with a vengeance this time. Buck must have just received his pain meds and was dozing a little when I arrived. I sat in awkward silence, staring first at the ceiling and then out the window, till the nurse swept the door open.
This nurse was one of several that cared for Buck and what struck me was not so much her zillions of tasks nor the speed that she moved, but how much she cared. Some might attribute it to her professionalism or positive outlook, but I think it was more than this. There was an abundance in her life, something genuine, even though she had been running throughout her night shift and saw more trauma in a month than most see in a lifetime.
Jesus told us that he came to bring us life, a more abundant life. I wonder if this is what he meant. A life lived large, way beyond our circumstances, even overflowing into the lives of others?
Buck soon roused from his sleep as the nurse scurried out the door and we yakked about life. Mostly small stuff. A few laughs.
I asked Buck how he was feeling as he repositioned himself in the bed he had been stuck in for months. He didn’t answer, but I looked down at his hands as he gestured a two-thumbs up sign. All good. Then he dozed off again.
As I passed the nurse in the hall, I thought both she and Buck preached the best sermons on abundant life I’ve heard. And yet hardly a word was spoken.
Dave Schapansky is a pastor at HillCity Church. You can reach him at daves@hillcity.ca.