Jesus Will Comfort You

Wilma was in her late 80’s when referred to hospice for renal failure. I could tell by the way she looked at me that her confidence would have to be earned. She admitted, “I’ve been alone and depressed much of my life. I’ve never had any real friends. I’ve always been a loner. When three or four people were together I usually ended up sitting and saying nothing.” Wilma seemed lonely, but at the same time, content. It didn’t make sense; the two aren’t compatible, are they? But I guess most of our lives are characterized by some dissonance; that we’re all walking contradictions to some degree.

Wilma reflected on her childhood in south Philadelphia, “My mother was Irish Catholic and really strict. She would as soon slap your face as look at you. I can’t ever remember my mother putting her arm around me and telling me she loved me. She never showed me any affection.” Wilma confessed, “I married young to escape from home”. But Wilma soon discovered that, on the other side, freedom looks and feels a lot like responsibility. She exclaimed, “It was hard!” But then a reminiscing smile slowly broke forth as she reflected on the two people from her past who were like an oasis in her desert.

Even though Wilma’s first husband left her, her mother-in-law remained faithful. Wilma and her two minor children lived with her mother-in-law in her boarding house. She watched the children while Wilma worked. Wilma described her, “She was educated. She went to highschool and then to business college. She was strict but gentle. She never raised her voice but she wouldn’t put up with any shenanigans either. If you pushed her she was fiery. She made the renters sign their names and if it wasn’t “Mr. and Mrs.______”, they weren’t allowed to stay.” When Wilma would cry over the stress of raising children on her own her mother-in-law would simply tell her, “Wilma, don’t cry, pray. Jesus will comfort you.”

The other oasis in Wilma’s desert was a Catholic Sister, her elementary school teacher. Wilma reminisced, “She always told us, ‘Jesus is your friend. Talk to him about your work, about your papers, your concerns.’ So I did. I’ll never forget what she told me. Now when I tell people that my friend lives with me they ask me, ‘who?’ and I say, “Jesus”. Their jaws drop and they don’t know what to say. We don’t know what Jesus looks like but if he were standing in that doorway I would know who He is.”

Now Wilma’s loneliness with contentment makes sense, doesn’t it? She’s found the “friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24); the consonant that produces harmony in dissonant lives.

Is your life characterized by dissonance, loneliness, fear, stress or discouragement? I’ve come to believe that what God did for Wilma He can do for us; He can do for you. So remember, “Jesus is your friend. Talk to Him… Don’t cry, pray. Jesus will comfort you”. Don’t you know, haven’t you heard, (Isaiah 40:28-31) that’s why Jesus came: “ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor… to heal the broken hearted…to comfort all that mourn…to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning…the garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness…” (Isaiah 61:1-3).

I invite you to leave your comments below or email them directly to me at Loren@LorenHardin.com.