Cleaning Lady

                She was just an ordinary woman going about her day.  She looked content and was focused on  cleaning the windows which lined the wall of the main hall in the hospital ICU unit.   They weren’t just windows, though.   The windows had stories to tell:

Stories of family members who strained to see hope through the windows

Stories of hospital employees who streamed by on their way to complete the next task

Stories of people who wondered if the loved one would get better

Stories of her own life: bills to pay, dishes to wash, car repairs to make

                I was just an ordinary woman going about my day: living my story.  On that particular day, my story’s main event was to visit my critically ill husband in the ICU unit.   More doctors, more tests, more hospital bills. We weren’t sure how we could endure another round of uncertainty within the captivity of the ICU unit. 

                There was something peaceful, something  purposeful about this woman which was attractive.  She was just a “cleaning woman”, right?  How could an encounter with her have anything to do with the seriousness of my situation?   As I stood there watching her work, I felt like the windows of my own soul were dirtier than those hospital windows.  Fingerprints of uncertainty, smudges of exhaustion, but also the glimmer of hope as the light persevered through the glass.  The hall was busy with people rushing to overcome the stress of the day.  Stress  was evident on their faces as the routines of the day took center stage.   In spite of the stream of people swirling around me, I felt alone – except for the cleaning woman.

                Letting down my guard, I entered into a conversation with the cleaning woman.  She IMMEDIATELY shared her faith in Christ and how she had seen Jesus redeem a specific area of her life.  Right there – in the main hall of the hospital – where the mainstream of humanity was flowing by – she held my hands and offered a beautiful prayer of hope.    She used her “cleaning tools” to clean the windows of my soul.  Prayer, a listening ear, and her own faith story became the “cleaning tools” for that moment.

                I literally cupped my hands to “hold” this new supply of joy and the reminder of God’s strength.  The new supply of strength went with me as I entered Glen’s small ICU room. He was surrounded by hospital employees, but also felt alone.    I used my new “tools” to clean the windows of his soul so that he could remember to have courage, to remember joy. 

                When I came out of the ICU unit, the cleaning lady was GONE.  She was nowhere to be found.   I don’t know how she could have possibly finished cleaning the 30 yards of windows after my brief visit in Glen’s room.   I don’t know where she went, but I do know that in the NOW of our encounter, she gave me a glimpse of HEAVEN.  And I will never forget that glimpse because it was good.

Genesis 28:16-17:

Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place – and I did not know it!”  And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place!  This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”        
.....…….even in the hospital ICU waiting area