This picture was taken Christmas morning, one year ago today. It was one week into my admission into Beaufort Memorial Hospital with Covid-Pneumonia. I'm smiling because I hadn't shaved in over a week and decided my Christmas gift to myself was to look presentable. I was kneeling at the sink with oxygen tube, trying to shave in their luke-warm water when a nurse came in. She started to fuss at me to get into bed, but took pity on me and helped me shave my head. I was utterly out of strength to lift my arms at that point, and don't think I could have finished on my own. I don't remember her name, but I will never forget her kindness.
As I write this, a Sara Groves song comes to mind, titled simply, "Enough", and now I am weepy:
Really we don't need much
Just strength to believe There's honey in the rock There's more than we see
In these patches of joy These stretches of sorrow There's enough for today There will be enough tomorrow.
Such a small thing, shaving my head. But it was Enough. She took the extra time to show me love. To take care of me. It wasn't her job, and other patients were waiting. But I think maybe she thought I was going to die soon, alone in that room. So she made a snap decision to make my Christmas. And it made me feel like a new person.
So friends, maybe there is something small you can do for someone else today. It may seem insignificant to you. But it may be full of meaning for them. So please, take the time. Make the effort. Make someone's day. It's not hard, really.
Merry Christmas.
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