A New Beginning

This happened when I was serving as a Hospice Chaplain.

I drove up into the yard of this patient and got out carrying my small New Testament with me. As I walked up on the porch I noticed the door was opened and I could look in. I knocked on the door and the patient came to the door and didn’t hesitate in asking me to leave. I tried to communicate with him and he tossed out some profanity at me and again asked me to leave his home. I could see the patient was getting upset so I got back into my truck and as I was backing out of the drive I prayed and asked God to somehow open the door for me to visit this man. About one month later I was in route to see another patient when I received a call from our office who shared with me that the patient who asked me away from his home was now requesting a visit. I had asked God to open the door but as I started to his home I was a bit reluctant to go back there because I felt so mistreated. On my way, I begin to pray and talk with God about a visit with this patient. I felt God speak to my heart and say to me, “Go but don’t take your Bible.” I thought to myself that can’t be God He would never tell me not to take a Bible. Again I prayed and got the same response from God, “You go but don’t take your Bible.” On arrival at the patient home, I got out and left my Bible in the truck. I walked up on the porch and looked into the house again and noticed a bottle of liquor sitting on the table and a Bible opened lying next to it. I thought, Man what a paradox. I knocked on the door and he opened the glass door and the first thing out of his mouth was, “You the Preacher?” I answered that I was the Chaplain. He then looked at me and asked, “Where is your Bible?” I answered, I don’t have one and he looked shocked. “You are the first Preacher that has ever been here without a Bible. They come by from time to time and just beat me over my head with the Bible and tell me I am going to hell.” I looked into his eyes and will never forget the look I received from him. It was as though he was saying to me with those eyes, “I just want somebody to love me. I assured him I was not there to hit him over the head with a Bible, I was there because I cared. I looked into his eyes again and could see a tear running down his face. The patient opened his door and invited me in and we sat at the table with his bottle of liquor and Bible and he very tearfully said to me, “I am dying and I am not ready to meet my Maker, what can I do?” He then picked up his Bible and handed it to me and said to me, “show me what I need to do.” I took his Bible and share Scripture with him and he then prayed the sweetest prayer of confession that I’ve ever heard. His countenance changed immediately and he got up from the table and took the bottle of liquor and poured it down the sink. I said to him, “I wish I could tell you that it would be that easy but I will assure you it will be a battle to get past the drinking, but with the Lord’s help you can do it. About a week later he called me crying and said, “Preacher I messed up,” I went to him and settled him down by telling him we all mess up from time to time and that is why we need a Savior. I explained our God is a God of a new beginning and this seemed to comfort him. There were several times I had to go and visit with him to remind him again “Our God Is a God of New Beginnings.” It wasn’t long before God blessed him with the greatest New Beginning a new body, no more suffering and no more fighting the battle against pain and the flesh. Now that’s a NEW BEGINNING!!

Chaplain Danny V. Ray