Several years ago, when I was a young pastor, I rushed to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee to visit a person who had called Contact Telephone Ministry to share that she was in the process of making a suicide attempt. I was following up after the caller had been rescued and taken to the hospital. When I entered I was very anxious. But I found myself immediately calmed as I hurriedly walked into the hospital and saw in the hall a friend, the pastor of First Christian Church. He was listening to a troubled family member of someone who was in surgery. Since he was focused on the person with whom he was giving support, I did not interrupt him, but I still felt the same support he was sharing with another person. The support was coming from his presence.
When Dr. Debbie Hall wrote an article in 2005 named, "I believe in the power of presence" she had been a psychologist in San Diego's Naval Medical Center Pediatrics Department for several years. She was reminded of this belief when she and several other Red Cross volunteers met a group of evacuees from Hurricane Katrina. They were there, as mental health professionals, to offer "psychological first aid." Despite all the training in how to "debrief," to educate about stress reactions and to screen for those needing therapy, Debbie Hall was struck by the simple healing power of presence. Before they had done anything, as they walked in the gate to the shelter, they were greeted with an ardent burst of gratitude from the first person they encountered. Since Debbie and her team had not done anything yet, they felt guilty for receiving the affirmation. It was at that moment that Debby was reminded of the healing power of presence.
In her article Dr. Hall shares how she was first hurled into an ambivalent presence many years ago, when a friend's mother died unexpectedly. She had received a phone call from the hospital where the mother had just passed away. Part of her wanted to rush down there, but another part of her didn't want to intrude on this acute and very personal phase of grief. She was torn about what to do. Another friend with her at the time said, "Just go. Just be there." She did, and she says, "I will never regret it."(http://www.npr.org/
Billy Wilson, a friend of mine, recently lost a close friend through death. Several days after the burial he saw his late friend's wife. When Billy greeted her, he said, "Mary, I am sorrow you lost your best friend." She responded immediately, "Billy, my wonderful husband died, and I miss him very much, but I did not lose my best friend. My best friend is Jesus, and His presence is faithfully with me all the time."
Jesus said, "I am with you always. Even to the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20)
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