Dads Roommate

It has been an emotional last three weeks as many of you know my dad has been in the hospital battling for his life both physically and spiritually. The details do not matter except I will say that I know for sure any scars we see on the outside are far easier to recover from than the ones we carry on the inside of us all.  He was moved out of the ICU and into a regular ward a few days ago and after being excited about the move knowing he was only getting stronger we realized he would be sharing a room with someone and would no longer have a window of his own and privacy-boy we loose focus on the praises so quickly when our flesh creeps in. Anyway we hoped he would get a room mate who was at least quiet and didn't mind listening to Dads sometimes very powerful cough. As I walked down the hallway towards dads room I could here a man yelling for the nurse to come quickly to his room. He yelled over and over again and as I approached my fathers room I realized it was getting louder and louder because it was my dads roommate who was yelling. I dare not look on the other side of the curtain as I was already upset for my dad who has been having trouble sleeping and now this guy was screaming at  the top of his lungs. Oh and he had a bed that sounded like an air mattress blowing up every 15 minutes or so as well and instead of seeing what he needed I just began to fill with frustration for my dad. A nurse finally came and asked what he needed and the man said cigarettes. CIGARETTES!!!! My dad has been listening to you yell for goodness knows how long because you wanted a cigarette?!?!?!? Needless to say I wasn't getting any more patient about this situation and "Christian" badge of honor was beginning to fall off. Why would God put my dad through all of this and then add this guy to the mix? What is going on? Why cant my dad just get a break in here?
                   I left that evening frustrated and concerned for my dad and the next day got a nudge that perhaps I should find out about this man on the other side of the curtain. After introducing himself I found out his whole life story in one half hour he decided to share with me including the reason why he was in the hospital.I could tell by the way the nurses were engaging with him that he was quite a character and he revealed a little bit of that to us too. He said he felt sorry for my dad with that bad cough of his and hoped they could do something about it for him-he figured he must have pneumonia (diagnosed because of his history of being in the hospital many times just like dad) I now saw in a short time a weird sort of comradery they began to have even in the moments they seemed frustrated with each other-kind of like those two old guys on the muppets. As the days passed and I began to greet my dads neighbor each day I visited i began to enjoy his rantings about the people who wouldn't get him cigarettes and the nurses who didn't answer the bell. He asked what I did for a job and I told him about the mission. He asked how long I had been a missionary and I began to tell him a little bit about it. He said he used to believe in God but was now an atheist. I told him he wasn't an atheist  because I had heard him a few days earlier yelling our bible verses. He said God took his wife from him and that was why he was an atheist. I very boldly told him that he wasn't an atheist but that he was just mad at God and I have been mad at him too but the good thing is God still loved him and never gives up on him. He said maybe but for now he doesn't believe and I told him I was lucky to meet him. As I pulled the curtain back  I saw my parents giggling with each other at their bold child. Dad says you would always say anything to anyone. I said God puts us in places and spaces always for His purpose dad. Dads roommate wanted me to give him information about the mission so today I brought in our pamphlet. He quietly read the pages reading about what God was doing there and later told me that I should hand these out to everyone I meet because it looks like such a great place. He wants to know more about what we do and what we need and how can he help us out. I look forward to seeing my dads roommate now and have only a few days left as he moves out on Friday but I am grateful to God for sorting out my attitude of frustration  and making me see that its all about Him.
                              This JESUS FREAK journey has been especially interesting for me the last three weeks and although I am not sharing the details about my dads journey with you until he okays it I will simply say I have realized in a big way that the largest part of this journey for me has been forgetting about me and the things in this life that "frustrate" me and realizing that every situation, moment, minute, person or place is an opportunity to seek God in it. When I learn to do this in EVERYTHING on this journey I wont ever have to look for my FREAK again. Thanks for reading , praying for my dad and loving a man you may never get to meet.