March 3 – “A neighborhood crisis”

Yesterday morning I was hard at work at my computer around 6:30 or 7.  That tends to happen when I get up at 5 instead of my usual 6 a.m.  As I typed away I heard a siren off in the distance.  Not that unusual an occurrence, but I hadn’t received any notification on my fire department phone app.  After a few seconds I realized that I was no longer typing.  Instead I had drifted into a daze, listening to the siren as it got louder and louder.  That type of reverie is also not that unusual an occurrence when I wake up at 5.  But as I began to come to my senses, I realized that the alarm had indeed gotten louder – much louder.  Which could only mean one thing.  It was getting closer and closer.  Now, it could have been flying down the major street just a block over, but then it happened.  The extremely loud siren suddenly stopped.  Just stopped.  I knew right away what that meant.  The emergency vehicle (which I had determined by this time must be an ambulance only call) had entered a residential neighborhood.  Our residential neighborhood. 

I jumped to my feet.  Well, let me rephrase that.  I slowly rose to my feet.  It was early in the morning, and it takes me a while to get all the kinks out.  I went outside to see where exactly the call ended.  Now, I also have to say that something else happened the night before that I wasn’t expecting.  It got cold again in Galveston.  And I was in shorts and sandals, of course.  Needless to say, I added a parenthesis to my journey and returned for a long sleeved shirt.  It must have been 55 degrees out there.  Once I was adequately secured from the frigid weather, I ventured out again.  Sure enough, the ambulance was parked in front of a neighbor’s house, that of a very sweet elderly lady who has lived there since I was a kid running these same streets.  And now she lives there alone.  There were several other cars at the house as well, so I figured at least one of her kids must have arrived. 

Sure enough, after a few long minutes, her daughter, who is my age, came out and got her car ready to follow the ambulance to the emergency room.  She saw me and waved, so I made my way over to let her know we would be praying.  She got out of the car and gave me a hug and let me know that her Mom had taken a fall sometime the night before.  They didn’t know yet what all was wrong, but there appeared to be broken bones and a concussion involved.  I assured her of our prayers and hurried her on her way.  I did stop by the hospital later in the afternoon to check on the Mom.  She was still in the ER waiting for a room to become available.  After checking in with her granddaughter, I told her who I was and chatted briefly.  She had received some pain medication, so I didn’t keep her long.  We had a prayer together, and I assured the granddaughter that we lived nearby if they needed us for anything.  She gave me a lesson for the world to hear as I was leaving.  If you have an emergency alert button (commonly known as the “I’ve fallen and can’t get up” button), please wear it.  Wise advice, young lady.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 says, “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.  We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Father, please be with our neighbor as she begins the long road to dealing with some difficult medical issues.  Touch her where she needs you the most.  Amen.