Not Every Door Is An Exit — December 12, 2021

Little Gestures

One day when I was in the lobby waiting for my radiation treatment, sitting in the waiting room the door was shoved open and three ambulance staff came in pushing a gurney with an elderly woman strapped to it. She was obviously too incapacitated to be transported by a wheelchair.

I didn’t give the scene a lot of thought and continued waiting my turn. Radiation treatments are extremely fast so they wheeled her back out in about fifteen to twenty minutes and as she passed the receptionist’s desk she offered a cheery ‘Thank you!’.

For the next five days, before my schedule changed, the routine was always the same. The woman would be rolled in and when she was rolled out she would thank the lady at the front desk.

It wasn’t the actual words which impressed me but rather the sincerity with which she offered them. I don’t know her condition or prognosis but I can assume she is basically bedfast without a strong chance of recovery yet she was not withdrawn from people or her surroundings. Rather than feeling sorry for herself she wanted to make sure that those helping were thanked and felt good about themselves. I assume that she treated the many doctors, nurses and attendants the same way.

It seems like a little gesture from a person who most people would overlook much like the Biblical story of the widow who gave a miniscule financial offering to the Lord. The only one who noticed was Jesus. He pointed her out to His disciples as an example of faith and sacrificial giving. The woman who preceded me in the radiation office didn’t have any money to offer nor was she in condition to offer a lengthy sharing of her feelings. She offered what she could, the emotional and spiritual strength to show respect and appreciation to other human beings regardless of her condition with a cheery thank you. I am sure Jesus was as appreciative of her offering as He was of the widow and her mite.