Affection and what it contributes to healing

My wife had asked me to pray for her one afternoon when she was feeling ill. In our family, as Christian Scientists, prayer is a special way to support one another when things like this arise, and I was happy to help.

Probably a half-hour had elapsed when I decided to look in on her. As I entered the room, she looked up and said, in a voice slightly more upbeat than earlier, that she was feeling much better. Hearing that, I smiled and proceeded back to our family room. I was only a couple of steps down the hall when she made another comment. This one had a more serious tone to it. "You know," she said, "you wouldn't make a very good nurse."

That hit hard. After all, I was praying for her. And she was showing signs of improvement. Wasn't a little more gratitude in order? Didn't my efforts merit something more than an unkind comment like that?

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What we packed
December 14, 1992
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