Tom watched as they rolled a middle-aged man on a stretcher into the critical care bay. The man seemed to be in a great deal of pain as he clutched his chest. Tom shook his head hoping his assessment was wrong. Tom had seen this situation too many times in the past few months. He wished people paid attention to the warning symptoms before it got to this extreme. Tom and the others rushed into place hoping their efforts were not going to be too late.
"Sir, can you tell me your name?" Tom asked.
"Clark Johnson. Where am I?"
"You are at St. Jude's. Do you know how you got here?"
"I'm not sure. I was in so much pain. I think I just collapsed."
"It's okay, Clark, we are going to take good care of you." Tom reached for Clark's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"There's something wrong with my heart. It doesn't feel right," admitted Clark.
Tom placed his hand on Clark's heart. "It feels pretty hard."
"Am I going to die?"
Tom knew he had to be completely honest. "Clark, your heart is probably going to keep beating for a long time. The real problem is that your soul is slowly dying, and that is a much more serious problem."
"I don't understand?"
"Clark when is the last time you prayed?" Tom asked.
"What?! I don't know. Do people still really do that?"
"Yes, Clark, prayer is essential to the life of the soul. What about church? When was the last time you spent time in church?"
Clark closed his eyes as he searched his memory. "I have no idea. It's been a really long time. I"m a very busy person. I don't understand what's going on. Why am I in so much pain?"
"Clark, life without God is empty. Problems become too difficult. I'm going to guess that you have been blocking the love God has been trying to infuse into your soul. You are actually starving the life of your soul and it has caused your heart to become hard. Clark, my name is Father Tom, and if you are willing, I would like to help you."
"How do you know it's not too late for me?"
"Clark, God's love for each of us is way beyond our understanding. God can heal the hardest of hearts. You just have to turn to Him in prayer. Are you ready to begin?
"Yes!"
"Then let's begin in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit...."
As Clark and Father Tom began to pray, Jesus smiled and placed His arms around both of them.
-Susan
